Black and Blue
by NonsensicalCheshire
Summary: It wasn't the best life, she'll admit that. But it could've been so much worse. She could've not met Gajeel-kun, or Gray-sama, or anyone in Fairy Tail. After all, they brought color to her gray world. / So, this is a Juvia story. There's a lot of Gajeel/Juvia bromance, and it will be Gruvia later, since they're my OTP. So, hey, enjoy.
1. The Little Rain Woman

A/N: So, this is my first fanfiction published on this website. I posted it on tumblr, but then I decided to get an account because I wanted feedback. Juvia is just the love of my life, so of course I had to write a story about her. I guess this is a pretty different back story from what most people imagine her having, so I guess it's unique? I don't know, but I really hope you enjoy. (P.S. I'm kind of experimenting with formatting, since I'm new here. I don't really know the ropes, so to say, so please bear with lazy format. I'm really sorry.)

. . . . . . . .

* * *

"Mother, you can't leave Juvia alone with Nii-san," the little girl, no more than seven, pleaded.

"Juvia, you'll be fine," said a young woman.

This young woman was petite and slender. Her skin was pale and very smooth. Her hair was curly and a lighter blue than her daughter's darker blue and it touched the small of her back. No doubt her most notable feature were her eyes; thick eyelashes surrounded them, and the color was a stunning light blue, so pale that it was almost like you could look through them. She wore a plain, knee-length brown dress, but draped around her was a beautiful light blue cloak, embroidered skillfully, that closed at her ample chest with a silver tear-drop clasp.

"Yeah, Juvia. I'll take good care of you," said a boy with dark, dark blue hair, pale like the two females. His cruel navy eyes gave her an evil look, and the smile he wore did not at all touch his eyes. "Trust your Nii-san."

"N-no, Mother, can't you just drop Juvia off at Gran and Gramps's house?" Juvia pleaded again, desperate.

"No, stop asking!"

A man came lumbering down the stairs, holding his head in his hand. His hair was dark navy blue, his eyes the same color. He wore traveling clothes, dark pants and a white shirt with a red vest over it.

He scowled at the little girl. "And how many times have I told you to not use third person?"

The girl flinched and hid in her mother's skirts. The woman sighed, and then looked at the man. "Now now, James, it soothes her. Let her do it. The habit isn't causing any harm, now is it?"

The man, James, sighed irritated and picked up a bag. "Fine. C'mon, Ariel, let's go."

Ariel turned to smile at her children. "Now, Daniel, be nice to your little sister, okay?"

The boy smiled and waved. "Sure thing, Mother. Be safe."

With another smile, they left, leaving the two children. Shaking already, Juvia turned to look at her brother. "H-hear that, Nii-san? Mother said to be nice to Juvia."

But the boy advanced on her nonetheless, grinning with malice.

Juvia screamed.

. . . . . . . .

* * *

Juvia blinked up as a sliver of light appeared in the dark closet. She uncurled herself from a ball and yawned, rubbing her eyes. Daniel was silhouetted in the doorway, glaring down at her.

"Go get ready for school," he snapped, "I have breakfast ready."

Stretching her cramped, little girl limbs, Juvia exited the closet and trudged up the stairs to her room. More often than not, her big brother forced her to sleep in the closet, so she was more used to it than she had been. Still sleepy, she pulled her blue dress on, wrapped the shawl over, and put on her hat, going back down the stairs.

Daniel was eating breakfast at the table, and he didn't pay her any heed. Sighing, Juvia took a bite of burned eggs, scraped the black stuff off her toast. Of course there was a catch to Daniel being nice enough to make breakfast for her.

. . . . . . . .

* * *

Juvia smiled as she walked home, forgetting for the while all the teasing and tormenting, the bullying. She twirled her pink umbrella, crouched down for a moment to look at the rain on the grass. She giggled. The rain was so fun, and she liked it. Her only wish was that it wasn't always around. Never would she guess that later on in her life she would hate it.

Her smile and giggles stopped when she remembered that Daniel was home, waiting for her. Out of the family, Juvia was the only one that went to school, while Daniel did all his studying at home with the books the poor family could barely afford. Whenever Juvia complained to her mother (she'd never be crazy enough to tell her abusive drunkard of a father) that she didn't want to go anymore, Ariel would smile sadly and say, "We pay a lot of money for you to go."

Juvia didn't know why Daniel hated her so. Over the years she would theorize that the cause was that she was the mage of the family, not him. It was indeed odd that he wasn't a mage, since their parents were mages.

Actually, the whole of her mother's side were mages.

The Lockser family was a prestigious one, known for its long history of water mages. The myth was that their ancestors had contracted with a water dragon for the magic, and it was passed down in the family ever since. The only side effect was that they couldn't learn any other magic unless they were closely related to water, like ice magic. Usually, the bloodline was strongest in females.

Her mother was a fantastic water mage. So was her grandmother.

Juvia wanted to be a fantastic mage also, so that she could make the rain stop.

* * *

"Juvia, what happened?" Ariel bent down before her daughter, concerned. Juvia's face was bruised and her arm in a shabby, homemade sling. "Goodness, I've been gone for not even four days! James, get me some medicine, please!"

"Not now, Ariel, gotta get something to drink."

Ariel sighed and pulled out a handkerchief, scrubbing Juvia's face. "Your father and alcohol… Well, what happened?"

Navy orbs flickered over to Daniel reading at the tiny table.

_Tell Mother and Father what happened, I'll cut out your tongue._

And he would. Juvia knew it.

"J-Juvia fell down the stairs."

"Again? Such a silly little girl..."

. . . . . . . .

* * *

"Go to your room!" James shouted. "I don't want to see your bleak little face again!"

Sobbing, Juvia ran up the stairs past her mother, carrying a basket of laundry. Pursing her lips, Ariel quickly examined the bruises and cuts now on Juvia, adding to her already there bruises and broken arm. The young woman heard her daughter slam the door shut.

"James Grace," she said, putting the basket down. Her hands went to her hips. "How much have you had to drink tonight?"

"Some." He waved around an empty bottle lazily as he sat on the couch. "Why?"

"You hurt Juvia again, didn't you?" Ariel asked quietly.

He ran a hand through his hair. "What of it?"

Ariel began to shake. Confronting her drunken husband always scared her. "Th-that's your daughter, and you can't just-"

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, woman." He pointed the empty bottle at her. "I'll do the same thing to you."

Breathing deeply, she picked the basket back up and quickly walked away.

. . . . . . . .

* * *

"Guess what, kids?" Ariel asked, drying a plate off. Today she wore her normal clothes, a long white dress with a blue corset.

"What?" Daniel asked, not looking up from his food.

"What, what?" Juvia asked, much more excited.

Ariel smiled and put the plate down, twirling up her hair in a bun. "Your Gran and Gramps are coming over tomorrow!"

Juvia squealed, jumped up and down, the thumps of her jumps drowning out the sound of rain on the windows. "Gran is coming! Gran is coming!"

"Juvia, stop it!" James came down, scratching his head. "Your excitement is giving me a headache, little brat." He patted Daniel's head. "Son, how are you?"

"Good, Father."

Such was the little girl's excitement that she didn't even care about the rudeness of her father, or the beating Daniel would give her for daring to get so happy.

Her grandmother and grandfather were coming.

They were the best people in the whole wide world.

. . . . . . . .

* * *

"Ah, there's my pretty, pretty girl!"

Juvia ran into her grandfather's arms, practically shrieking with joy. He was a strong looking man, taller than her own quite tall father, with brown hair that hung in his dusty red eyes. He always wore good clothes, like vests and nice pants, and shiny black shoes. He, unlike her grandmother, was not a mage, but a simple business man.

"Gramps, Gramps! Guess what?" she said, grabbing his thick hair.

"What?"

"It rained a little lighter yesterday. Maybe it's going away?"

"Look, my princess! So cute, so cute!"

Juvia's grandmother snatched her away from her husband. The woman was as short as her daughter, Ariel, and had hair that wasn't her color, but Juvia's darker blue, and it was straight, cut short at her shoulders. Her eyes, however, matched Ariel's. Juvia wished she had their eyes instead of her father's.

"Gran, yay!" The seven year old had a look on her face like there was nothing better than seeing her grandparents.

"Mother, Father, how are you? James, come say hello."

"Fine, little girl, just fine." Her father pinched her cheek, eliciting a giggle from the woman.

"And your no good husband can stay where he is," Juvia's grandmother muttered.

"Mother!"

James entered the room, glaring at the couple. Needless to say, they weren't a fan of him, and he wasn't a fan of them. "Leonard." He nodded to his wife's father, then to her mother. "And Marina. Okay, bye."

Marina put Juvia down. "Eloquent as ever, James."

Leonard laughed nervously, and then smiled when Daniel entered the room, smiling fakely as always. "Hey, there's the little man." He shied away from his grandpa trying to ruffle his hair. The boy took after his father and did not care much for Gran and Gramps.

Marina pursed her lips, looking at the boy warily. "Yes, there he is." Gingerly, she patted his back.

Ariel looked about the room. "So, Juvia, Daniel, go run along and play together. I'll make your grandparents some tea."

The woman shook her head. "No, no, we have something for Juvia, don't we, Leo?"

Daniel didn't seem fazed that there was nothing for him.

Her grandfather pulled out a package, giving it to her. "Open it, honey, open it."

Ripping open the paper, the girl was delighted to find that it was a small sewing kit, complete with some white fabric. "A sewing kit? It's mine?"

"That's right!" Marina leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Go hide it where Daniel can't get it, love."

Immediately, Juvia shot a look at Daniel and fled up to her room. His eyes followed her, but he shrugged and followed his father away. Marina and Leo followed their daughter into the kitchen.

"So, how are you?" Marina asked, easing into a chair.

"Good, just fine, Mother. We're fine."

If you looked closely, you could see that Marina and Ariel were not incredibly far apart in age. Marina had had Ariel very young, at the age of eighteen. Ariel had also had Daniel young, when she was just nineteen, making her only twenty-seven, and Marina forty-five. Leo was five years older than his wife, aged fifty.

Leo sighed. "Juvia has some new bruises."

"We're fine, Father. Juvia is fine. Her father will get over it soon, and she'll be fine." Her grip on a tea pot tightened.

"Haven't you realized that it's not just James, its Daniel?" Marina asked. "That boy abuses her like crazy!"

Shaking, Ariel slammed the silver tray on the counter. "No, he doesn't. My little boy wouldn't do that to his sister. Daniel is a good boy. He's good."

The older woman sighed. "Honey, you're in denial. Juvia has told me about it."

She was near shouting now. "Why would she tell you and not me?"

"She's scared to tell you, because she knows Daniel will-"

"Daniel doesn't hurt her!"

The room fell in silence. Marina shifted the focus. "So, why aren't you accepting our financial aid?"

Ariel poured tea into the cups, trembling with emotion. "James and I don't need it."

"You're living in a shack."

"We live comfortably."

"He's not letting you take it, is he?"

"… That's not it, Father."

Marina leaned forward, sighing. "Now, I know this is a sensitive topic for you, but remember, you can always leave Juvia with us."

"My baby doesn't need to go anywhere else, she's fine here."

She lets it go at that. "Well, can't you at least bring your kids over? There's so much more room at our mansion to run around and have fun. They've never been over, not once."

"James wouldn't like that," she said, putting the tray of tea and cake down.

"Do you let your husband control you like an animal always, Ariel?" Leo asked.

Ariel stiffened. "So, how's the business going?"

Leo sighed. Marina got up and left the room, calling out, "Juvia! Let's go make water animals outside," and they could hear Juvia saying, "Look, I made a teru-teru bozu. He's my friend now."

. . . . . . . .

* * *

She was eleven when it happened. Countless bruises, broken limbs, cuts, and threats later, from both Daniel and her father, it happened.

It was storming even harder than usual that day. Her father had stabbed her with a broken bottle, cussing her out for the damn rain, and while she was crying, picking glass from her back, Daniel, now thirteen, waltzed in and casually kicked her head against the bath tub, laughing as he went on his way. What a pleasure to cause pain to a little ameonna.

Daniel just went out on a walk one day. Juvia remembers him scowling as he got out his umbrella, complaining about the constant rain and a no good, bratty little sister. She clutched her teru-teru bozu, whom she'd named "Bo-kun." She had dozens of Bo-kuns up in her room, made from the same sewing kit Gran had given her.

Daniel didn't come home at five.

Not at six.

Not at eight.

The police officer came at ten o'clock.

The sound her mother made when he told her that he'd slipped in the rain, fell over a small ledge and cracked his head open, was horrifying. Juvia had never heard a sound like that before, and never wanted to again. Her father simply bowed his head, clenched his fists, and thanked the officer. Ariel had a full-on breakdown there by the door, screaming and pounding the floor. No one stopped her.

_I killed him, _Juvia thought. _I killed Nii-san with the rain. I killed him I killed him I killed kill kill kill kill._

That was the day the she hated the rain with a burning passion. Not because it killed her big brother, whom she didn't even quite care for, but because it made her out to be some sort of murderer.

The funeral was held in the rain, which was no surprise. Mother and Father wept, but Juvia didn't share their feelings. She was… she was _glad _that Daniel Grace was dead. And she hated herself for it. So, so much.

She and Bo-kun just stood there for the rest of the time, while people carried on with their lives after the funeral. Nobody knew the Graces well, so only a few people were at his burial. Juvia barely registered that Gran had gone up to Mother and Father. She only caught snatches of the conversation.

"Leo is dead… Lots of room… I don't want to be alone… No condition…"

"Daniel… Daniel… Why?… I'm sorry… Take her, I'm sorry…"

A hand slipped into hers minutes later. It was Marina, bent down next to her, holding a black umbrella over her head. Her grandmother smiled. "Hey, pretty lady. It's okay, you don't have to act sad in front of Gran. She knows how terrible Daniel was to you."

Juvia looked at Marina, eyes filling with tears. The older woman's eyes were, too. "Your Gramps is dead, you know, and my house is really, really empty. Do you… Will you come live with me?"

Juvia looked behind, back at her parents. Her father had _the_ look on his face, like he wanted a drink desperately, and her mother's face was blank, like it had been for the past few days.

She nodded.

. . . . . . . .

* * *

The eleven year old had never been to her grandparent's house. The furthest she'd been away from her little shack of a home was to the school on the other side of town. This house was big and beautiful, with white walls and a brown roof, nicely kept gardens and a cute little fence.

Juvia was confused when the carriage moved past it. Marina smiled and pointed at the house fading in the distance. "Oh no, that's not mine. That's the servants quarters. The house is another mile or so."

Her head whipped to her grandmother to fast her hat almost fell off. "Servants quarters? Your house is bigger than that?"

She smiled and laughed. "Yeah, you'll get to go see all the quarters later once you're moved in. Everyone wants to meet you."

"How do they know I exist?"

Marina smiled. "I talk about you all the time. So did Leo." Her lips turned up sadly, but she came back to Juvia quickly. "So, what do you think of the landscape?"

Juvia looked out the window again. There were rolling hills, green and now rain drenched, and wild flowers poked up, rejoicing in spring and the moisture. Little houses scattered around here and there. As they went further along, the green plains became orchards and farming fields.

"That's what Gramps and I did for a living." Marina smiled proudly, crossing her arms over her chest. "We ship our fruit and such all over Fiore, and we run a major train system, too. But an old acquaintance of mine, Heartfilia, he's trying to get our tracks. Don't worry, he'd have to go through Gran, and no one makes it past me."

Juvia smiled for the first time in a little while. Gran was pretty fierce. She remembered a time when she and Gramps came to pick her up from school and take her home. Bullies were picking on her, stomping on Bo-kun, and Gran simply scared them off with a few water lashes and a glare.

"Oh, look. There's my house, Juvia."

Juvia's eyes widened the closer they got to the home, the orchards fading away into nicely kept gardens and stone structures and pathways. The paths led up to a house even bigger than the servants quarters, bigger by a lot. The mansion had small buildings disconnected from it, but were clearly apart of it based on design. It was made of white brick, and its roofs were black and blue. Some parts peaked a bit, like a castle from a fairy tale, but it mostly didn't. People waved at the carriage passing by, not minding the rain one bit, and Juvia shrunk back away from the window.

A man took her one suitcase out for her, and he even bowed to her. Shocked, Juvia awkwardly curtsied back, and he laughed at her. But it wasn't a mean laughing, like how her father and previously Daniel laughed at her. It was a big-hearted, "look-how-cute-she-is," sort of laugh.

Marina held an umbrella above them, took the girl's hand. "Come, come, there's so much to see, my love."

Juvia looked up at the mansion looming over her. "I'll bet."

"Welcome home, Mistress!" a few maids said, smiling. They ranged from young to old, and all looked genuinely delighted to see Marina back. Their smiles grew when they saw Juvia.

One maid, a plump girl about her mother's age, knelt down in front of Juvia. She had dark red hair and a splash of freckles. Juvia thought she was cute looking. She smiled and took Juvia's hands in her own doughy ones. "How do you do, Young Miss?"

"Y-young Miss? Juvia?" They all giggled at her shock, even Marina. "S-she does well. And you, ma'am?"

"I do well, too, Young Miss. And my name is Moxie, there's no need to be 'ma'am'-ing little old me."

"Good to see you all doing well," Marina said, taking off her coat with one arm, still holding Juvia. Another servant assisted her, taking it away to clean and dry. "If you don't mind, could you tell Monroe to prepare dinner? I'm going to show my granddaughter around. Please go back to work, lovelies."

Marina guided Juvia around, feeling joy at the little girl's wonder. For eleven years she'd been dirt poor, living in a shack on the outskirts of a tiny little town. Now, she would be a princess living in a castle. How would she adjust? Would the luxuries turn her into a bratty, snooty little thing, or would she remain the kind girl she was?

Juvia thought that the living rooms were beautiful, and marveled at the gigantic library. The dining room was spectacular, filled with fancy dinnerware and cutlery, and the big table in it was polished and sparkled. The music room caught her eye. So did the greenhouse and the outdoor gardens. The servants quarters were very, very nice, nicely furnished, and the people in them were nice as well. They said they liked the rain. But they would get tired of it, no doubt.

"Finally, the place I've been waiting to show you," Marina said when they came back from the servants quarters. "You're nice, big room."

A room could be big?

Oh yes, it certainly could. Juvia's room was on the third floor of the mansion, and Marina insisted on covering the little navy blue eyes when she opened the door. The room was half the size of her old house. The floors were dark, hardwood, and covered with a cream colored rug. The walls were blue-green, much like the ocean, and the curtains covering the tall window that opened up to a balcony were light, sea mist gray. There was a table near the corner, with a tea set set atop it, and there were shelves lined with books… And stuffed animals. The bed was large and white, very fluffy looking, covered with gray-blue comforters. A gray canopy roofed it, and a pink throw sat at the edge of the bed.

Filled with nothing but amazement, Juvia released her gran's hand and stepped in, slowly observing everything, hugging each stuffed animal, looking at all the book covers. She looked at the hot tea in one of the cups, giggled, then ran over to the bed, where she lunged on it, rolling around, wrinkling it all.

"Is it all Juvia's, Gran?" she asked, suddenly sitting straight up. "Is it, is it?" The rain pelted the windows, but she didn't care.

Marina smiled, wiping away a tear before Juvia could see it. "Yes, yes it is."

Juvia stood up, ran back over. "Well, what about school?"

The woman rubbed her head. "I'll call tutors. You don't have to go back to that nasty place ever again."

Juvia looked puzzled. "Work? Daniel and Father always made me clean and do chores for them."

"Unless you want to, you don't have to."

"What about… what about the rain?" Juvia looked sad. "Won't people get sick of me, call me gloomy?"

"The people here are plenty nice, little love. And I'll take you around once in a while, give the area a break and sunshine."

Juvia smiled. Marina smiled back. The little girl had the most wonderful smile. "Juvia never imagined things would be like this."

Gran helped her get into the fancy clothes for dinner. Juvia was bewildered by the design and feel of the clothing, never having seen something so fancy in her life, much less worn it. The dress was blue and almost touched the ground, and it was patterned up the front with white overlapping circles. Gran didn't make her wear shoes, for which Juvia was grateful. Her feet hurt from walking, and she didn't want shoes.

A few times, the little girl could feel her grandmother's calloused hands running over scars from beatings. Juvia told her it was okay, that it was all over since she was with her. Marina smiled at that, said yes, yes it was. Things would be okay as long as she was with Gran.

Juvia sat next to her grandmother at the head of the table, blinking at the warm, steaming bread. A maid cut her a slice, spread some butter on it. While they waited for the main course, Marina told Juvia about proper table manners when you were a "princess," but unless people were over, she didn't have to use them a whole lot. She told her about which utensil was for what, and that under no circumstances was she to slouch at the table.

Juvia stirred the soup, eyes doubtful. "What is this?" she asked, tilting her head so her oddly curled hair bounced.

"It's seafood stew," Gran answered, blowing on a spoonful. "Eat it up, it's good. Lots of protein. There's clams and tuna and shrimp, and a whole bunch of good greens."

Juvia looked confused. "I don't think I've ever had that before."

She fell in love at first bite and had three more bowlfuls before dessert. Marina simply watched her with adoration, remembering Ariel when she was a little girl, sitting in a slightly smaller house, eating the same stew.

Juvia would make a good princess, she was sure.


	2. The Knight in Iron Armor

A/N: Wow, lots of views, actually. Thanks so much to all those that followed and favorite-d. I hope you won't be disappointed! And to littlemicmissy, don't worry, it'll be a long story. This author of little talent is happy she could make your day! otaku03, thanks for thinking it's intriguing. I'm not a fan of Daniel and James either, you're not alone. Also, Ariel is a pretty nice person; she's just kind of submissive, and that doesn't excuse her from not helping Juvia.

. . . . . . . .

A pale hand strained, and soft grunts could barely be heard over the rain. Juvia, dressed in brown pants and a white, button up shirt (typical work uniform), reached for a peach. A group of workers clustered below, shouting for "Young Miss" to be careful. The fifteen year old let out a whoop of success when she touched the fuzzy skin, and she pulled, the peach coming off expertly and cleanly. She put it in the basket strapped to her hip, slid down the slippery and wet ladder.

"Juvia thinks she got all the peaches on that tree. If you don't mind, she's going to go back to the house for a cup of tea."

"Thank you for the help, Juvia-sama," an old man said, smiling at her. Rain dripped off his moustache.

"Any time, sir," Juvia said, exiting the orchard through a gate. She'd need dry clothes, too, along with tea. Maybe she'd take some up to Gran. She'd been awfully busy as of late.

Juvia walked in on a kitchen full of maids commenting on the "gloomy" rain. She smiled, pretended that she didn't hear them, put a pot on the stove. Of course she knew that people would get sick of her rain, eventually. Juvia was sick of it, too.

Wearing a fresh, ankle-length gray dress, Juvia knocked on the door quickly, returning her hand to the tipping tray of scones and milk tea.

"Come on in."

Juvia opened the door, revealing Marina swamped in paper work. The office was large and had a sleek gray rug in the middle. Bookshelves lined the walls, and towards the back was the desk, covered all over with stacks of paper; letters, bills, checks, whatever.

Marina looked up, smiled slightly. "Oh, Juvia, how was your day?"

Juvia set the tray down, pouring the creamy brown liquid into one teacup. "It was good. Juvia went to work in the peach orchards. The workers were quite concerned that she would slip on the ladder, since it was so wet and tall." She put the pot back down, sat at the chair across the desk. "How was Gran's day?"

"Oh, paperwork-y. I need you to do me a favor, actually."

"What?" she asked, taking a sip.

"Our delivery boy, Jason, has the flu. I need you to take the delivery to the market in town. It'll also give the workers a break from the rain, which I think they need. Okay?"

"Gladly." Juvia stood up, brushed her skirt. "Do you want me to take the cart?"

"Yeah. It's a big haul. Be safe, love."

"Okay, Gran."

. . . . . . . .

* * *

Juvia tugged a strand of hair out of her face, then whipped the reins a bit, urging the horses on down the cobblestone road. As she entered town, people made way for her, obviously not desiring to get run over.

She jumped down from the riders seat in front of the bakery, then went to the back to open it up. The baker came out, made small talk with her while she unloaded flour sacks. His apprentice had to come out and help her, because Juvia was no weightlifter. Smiling at the horses, she stroked their long faces, then fed them a few sugar cubes from the pouches on her belt. She guided them along by the reigns.

"Let's see… Bakers load delivered, check. Fruit and vegetables delivered to farmers market, check. Last stop, guys, is the cafe," she said to the horses, guiding them still.

The owner of the Sunlight Cafe grinned at her approach. She was a middle-aged woman that Juvia had to look up at a bit to speak. She always wore a red dress with a white waist apron that matched her red and white hair. Her name was Clover, and she, her husband and son ran the cafe together. Juvia was a regular there.

"Well, well, it's Juvia. How are you today?" Clover asked, wiping her flour covered hands on her apron.

"Quite well. I'm just here to drop off deliveries, Clover-san. How's business?" Juvia asked, headed for the back of the cart. What was she unloading again? Mangos, peaches, flour, milk, eggs…

"Busy as ever. Some fancy magazine wants to come visit us for an interview. Lemme help with that, you're so scrawny."

Together they carried in the baskets, their contents sprinkled with rain from the short trip inside. It took a couple of trips, but they got everything in safe and sound, though the eggs almost dropped a few times.

"Sit down, Percy will bring you some cake and hot chocolate," Clover said, disappearing into the back.

"Thank you, ma'am." Juvia removed her orange coat and sat down heavily, sighing with relief and rubbing her shoulders. The girl wasn't made for deliveries, though she did them often with the delivery boy. He liked her company, actually, though he sometimes complained about the rain.

"Oh look, it's Lady Lockser."

Juvia rolled her eyes and turned in her seat, staring down a boy at the entrance of the cafe. He had messy red hair and freckles everywhere, and his ears were pointy like an elf's. Surrounding him was a group of four more boys. None of them were very good-looking in Juvia's personal opinion.

"Nico and friends. How are you today?" she asked civilly.

He shrugged his lanky shoulders and sauntered forward. "Pretty good, pretty good, ma'am. How's life in the castle?"

Juvia glared over the menu that she'd opened, though she didn't need it. It just made her look busy. "Good. Did you need something?"

Nico leaned back, kicking his muddy boots up on the table. "Just wanted to talk to you. Hey, I learned some new magic, wanna see, babe?"

"Are you going to try and beat Juvia up again? And by the way, putting your shoes on the table is highly disrespectful."

He shrugged. That was a habit of his. "Probably. I'll get you this time, princess."

Juvia sighed. "Can Juvia ask you why you dislike her?"

The boy smirked. " 'Cause all you do is sit in the fancy mansion, sucking on a silver spoon. You ain't got an idea of what life on the hard side of town is like, babe."

Something in Juvia snapped, because she knew most likely even more than them how "life on the hard side" was, but she didn't let it show. "Yes, you live on the hard side of one of the richest towns in Fiore. You're poor life of not getting every little thing you want must be so hard."

His gang laughed. Nico's face contorted in rage and he quickly stood, slamming his hand on the table. "Wanna go, rain freak?"

Juvia put down the menu, calm slowly fleeing. "Well apparently, you want to, shadow freak."

Clover's son, Percy, was coming out with a slice of cake when they all stormed outside. Immediately, the people out made a wide circle. They'd seen Juvia and Nico go at it before, and while no serious damage was ever done, they were sure that being caught in the crossfire wouldn't be pretty.

"I learned some sick moves, rain freak. You'll be sorry you sassed me," Nico growled as they circled each other.

"You seem to be forgetting that I am a Lockser, Nico. We're naturally strong."

"Natural strength ain't nothin' compared to strength you earned!"

Shadow needles appeared all around Juvia. Breathing deeply, she calmed herself completely down. The needles passed right through her. Nico seemed shock, muttering, "That's new." Marina had taught her the move over the few years she'd been teaching her, a way to turn her body to water so harm couldn't come to you. Juvia still hadn't mastered it yet, but it was good enough for his shabby, mediocre magic.

With a wave of her arm, the rain gathered and slapped him on the side, knocking him over. Mad as he made her, she'd never dream of seriously wounding the poor boy. The other thing restraining her would be the disappointed face of Gran. Nico growled and rushed her, shadows forming around his fist. People on the sidelines cheered for one or the other, Nico's crowd shouting loudly for his victory.

_Calm Juvia, calm…_

Water Body failed her this time, as she couldn't calm down and collect the magic in time, and the attack hit her right in the stomach. She fell backwards, coughing up a bit of blood. That had hurt. A lot. She leaned forward, spitting out blood, glaring at him. With only a thought, the puddles around all rushed for him, whipping him relentlessly as she recovered. His shadows broke through, and he rushed for her again. Juvia punched him on the face. He punched her back. It all dissolved into a fist fight, magic forgotten in their rage and pain.

"Woah, woah! Break it up, break it up!" Clover's husband, Derek, came rushing out. A strong man, he effortlessly pulled apart the two wrestling on the ground. Juvia's jaw was swollen now, blood streaming out of her nose onto her nice gray dress, and he had a black eye and crooked nose.

"Rain freak started it!" Nico accused, his voice funny from his nose. "I was just defendin' myself."

"Oh, come on! You started it, jackass," Juvia shouted. Percy had come out and was holding her back.

"Juvia, go home," Derek said, not gently. He shoved Nico. "You too, punk."

Holding her nose to stop the blood flow, Juvia made for her cart. She mounted the drivers seat, poking her jaw gingerly. Percy came back right before she left with a box with her cake in it, saying it was for her troubles, and he was sorry she had to deal with Nico. Juvia shook her head, saying she was as much to blame for provoking him, and took the cake. Her stomach churned with guilt and anger.

. . . . . . . .

* * *

"Goodness, what happened, Young Miss?" Coraline the nurse asked, rubbing salve on her nose. Moxie was making her herbal tea, very concerned about her mistress.

Juvia sniffed, grimacing when some of the stuff got in her nose. "That stupid boy attacked me again."

"Again?" Moxie pushed open the door. "That's the second time this month."

"He doesn't like me because he thinks I'm a spoiled princess," Juvia said when Coraline stopped to grab an ice pack. "He doesn't know how I lived before. Maybe he'd like me if he knew that."

"Doubt it," Coraline said, patting a bandage on a scratch above her eye. "That boy just has a nasty temper."

"I provoked him." Juvia hung her head. "It was my fault."

Moxie sighed, sliding a cup of tea over. "No no, it wasn't. Now, once Coraline is done, just go up to your room and go to sleep. It'll be fine."

. . . . . . . .

* * *

Juvia woke up to Marina stroking her hair and the sound of ever constant rain.

"Morning."

"Good morning, Gran," Juvia sat up in bed, stretching a bit. Her gauzy blue night gown flowed all over the bed.

Marina poked her jaw. Juvia flinched at the sting of pain that came with it. "Heard you got into a little bit of a tussle. Was it Nico again?"

"Mmhmm."

"That boy." Marina sighed. "Well, I've got to work again all day. What're you going to do? Go out and work in the orchards?"

Juvia shook her head. "No, not today. I don't have lessons today, so I think I'll just go walk around."

She stood up. "Okay. Bring me lunch later, will you? Have fun."

"Mmkay."

Within a few hours, Juvia found herself walking around the gardens, twirling her umbrella, as was habit. She kicked around a pebble, muttering to herself about the rain. Well, the gardens were getting boring; perhaps a walk in the fields would be nice. After all, the wildflowers did look beautiful in the pouring rain.

The wet blades of long field grass poked at her stockings, and water leaked into her shoes as she squelched through the plains. Eventually tired, she put her umbrella down and laid in the wet grass. Mumbling, she covered her eyes with a hand.

_All you do is sit in that fancy mansion and suck on a silver spoon._

No, she didn't, she told herself. Almost everyday, she worked alongside the orchard workers. She ran deliveries. She helped Gran when the paperwork was completely out of control.

But she still felt wrong.

. . . . . . . .

* * *

"Gran, can I come in? I have your lunch, like you asked."

"C'mon in, Juvia."

Like yesterday, Marina's desk was piled high with things, and she had bags under her eyes. Juvia had gone into her room earlier to help the maids clean up; it didn't look like anyone had slept in there for a couple of days.

"You look so tired, Gran." Juvia set the tray of hot milk and sandwiches down on the desk.

"Oh yes, food. Come to me, sandwiches." Marina took the tray, then looked up when Juvia didn't leave. "Is something wrong? Do your bruises hurt?"

Juvia jumped. "No. Well, yes, but that's not what's wrong." Quickly brushing her long dress, she sat down in the chair. "You see, Juvia has been thinking-for a while, actually- that maybe she wants to, um, maybe she could…"

"Spit it out, honey."

Juvia looked anywhere but her grandmother. "She was thinking that maybe she could leave."

Marina almost dropped her drink. She put it down on the desk and stood up. "Juvia, what?"

Juvia looked down at the floor, then back up. "J-Juvia wants to join a guild. She wants to make a living as a mage, just like you used to. After all, Gran has been teaching me for these four years, and Juvia thinks she's perfectly competent. Also, she wants people to see her as more than a pretty princess."

Marina leaned on her desk, then cursed when a stack of papers fell. "Honey, you know that the world won't be as accepting of your-" She waved her hand, searching for a word, then sighed and settled on the one Juvia used. "-problem as they are here. I know you could handle it- you're my granddaughter, after all- but there's no denying it would be hard."

Juvia clenched her fists. "Juvia can handle it! She can."

The woman sighed and sat back down. "Well, if that's what you want, I won't stop you. I love you and wish you would stay, but you've got to leave eventually." She looked up, her crystal blue eyes very serious. "But you have to know, if you join a guild and they find out you're a Lockser, they will drain every last resource out of you." She tapped the wood with a finger at each word. "I know we changed your name, but maybe you should start going by Juvia Grace again…"

Angrily, she stood up. "Juvia will never use that name again!"

Marina threw her hands up, calming her granddaughter. "Okay, okay. I can completely understand. But if you won't do that, it's your problem."

. . . . . . . .

* * *

"Be safe, okay?" A week later, Marina tossed a traveling cloak over Juvia's shoulders, tying it.

"I will. You've told me multiple times already." Juvia let her grandmother take her head and plant a kiss on it.

Juvia gave a giggle and a smile at the servants who were crying in the main room of the mansion. She waved and they waved back. Before her own grandmother could start crying, Juvia picked up her bag, opened her umbrella and went on her way.

* * *

She hid behind a tree as a couple walked past her, smiling and laughing together. Wistful, she watched them. After traveling alone with Bo-kun and the rain as her sole companions for months, she was getting lonely.

The man lifted his hand, smiling at his girlfriend. "This rain is so gloomy. Really brings you down, you know?"

Juvia flinched, walking away briskly. It happened wherever she went. Gloomy, gloomy, gloomy. Guilds wouldn't let her join, because they didn't want it raining on them all the time. She didn't want to stay in towns for too long, because she'd flooded one a few days ago.

Sighing, head hung as usual, she continued on her way. She splashed in a puddle, but the fifteen year-old payed no notice to her soaking boots.

"Hey, Bo-kun, on a scale from one to ten, how gloomy is Juvia?" she asked, fingering the dolls smiling face. With a frown, she nodded. "Twenty? Or more? Yeah, she agrees."

Two days later, she was walking to the next town over (they had a small guild called Lamia Scale there). She hummed to herself, swinging her arms, deciding that she didn't want her umbrella that day.

"Hey, there she is!"

Shocked, Juvia stopped, looking around. She turned around to see three men standing twenty feet behind her. Every instinct told her to run.

"That's the witch that flooded us!" one shouted. He didn't look happy.

_Well, time to go._

She broke out in a run, and with angry shouts, they followed her. Damn, why hadn't she left that town earlier? Why did she cause them so much trouble. She should've known better; she wasn't wanted anywhere.

Not so gracefully, she fell over a ledge that had been invisible after a few minutes of running. With a shriek, she rolled down it, and she felt her arm bend at an odd angle. Fortunately, she rolled away before the bone could snap. As if payback for letting her get away without a broken bone, she hit her head on a rock towards the bottom. She laid there, twitching, everything fuzzy. The men rushed down at her, and she told her body to get up, but it wouldn't.

. . . . . . . .

* * *

The mage walked down the road, grumbling to himself about the rain that had suddenly come on with no warning. He didn't care much for the rain; he and water didn't mix.

At the sound of a girlish scream, he turned around. A few yards away, a girl in blue was taking a tumble down the hill. He was ready to laugh until he saw the men chasing her.

. . . . . . . .

* * *

_I'm screwed, I'm screwed, _she kept thinking as she told her body to move, run, get up at the very least so she could fight. But everything kept getting fuzzier and fuzzier, and she started to care less and less. Their boots, the only thing she could see from her position, were rushing towards her now.

_I'll just give up, then. I deserve it._

The last thing she saw was the masculine figure that ran in their way, and the way he pounded them all away.

* * *

She woke up for a minute or so. With half-lidded eyes, she blinked away fuzzy sight. Juvia vaguely noticed that she was moving, but wasn't walking. With a move of her hand, she touched something coarse and thick. Black hair.

"Oh, you awake?" came a gruff voice. It didn't sound threatening, but certainly not overly kind, either.

"Where are you taking Juvia?" she mumbled.

"Home."

She fell back asleep, burying her face in the warm, warm hair.

. . . . . . . .

* * *

With a jump, she awoke a day later. Her dark eyes roved about before she sat up. The room she was in was dark colored; gray walls, dark wood floors. The blankets covering her were warm and black. Groaning, she sank back down into bed, barely registering that she was in a strangers bed.

An hour later, the door opened. Her eyes cracked open, taking in the appearance of the person who strolled in. He had metal studs everywhere; where his eyebrows should be, up his arms (which also held scars), his entire face. He had a mane of wild, spiky black hair and deep red eyes. He wore a tight black shirt and cargo pants, and carried a tray with a bowl on it.

"You're awake. Good." He sat down on a stool next to the bed. He lifted the spoon out of the bowl. "Eat this. I think you'll feel better."

Juvia scrunched up her eyebrows, glaring at him. Did he think she was stupid? He sighed, stirred the soup or stew or poison around the bowl.

"I'm Gajeel Redfox. And I bought this soup, I didn't make it, so you don't need to worry about poison or your taste buds dying, lady." He didn't look happy, but he didn't look mean. Kind of like his voice. "Now, open up."

Hesitantly, she did. He shoved the spoon in there so fast it hurt the inside of her cheek. But the soup was good, and certainly didn't taste like poison. Besides, why would he save her if he was just going to poison her?

He got another spoonful. "Gotta name?"

"Juvia," she squeaked, then cleared her throat. "I'm Juvia… Lockser."

He didn't seem affected by her last name. "I don't think it's right for a groupa guys to be gangin' up on some chick. Moreover, thought I sensed some magic in you. It's causing the rain, right? You a mage?"

She swallowed more soup. "Y-yes, I am. Are… you?"

He grinned for the first time, let out a peculiar laugh. "Gihihi! Sure am. I'm the Iron Dragon Slayer, the Ace of Phantom Lord!"

"Phantom Lord? Isn't that one of the strongest guilds in Fiore?"

"Woah woah. It's _the _strongest, babe." He put aside the empty bowl and handed her a slice of bread. "What kind of magic do you use?"

"Juvia uses, um, water magic. You're really a Dragon Slayer, Gajeel-san?" Juvia asked, digging into the bread. She'd heard of Dragon Slayers, read books about them, but they were an uncommon kind of mage.

He ignored her question, and went to rubbing his chin. "Water magic? That's some coincidence, Juvia."

. . . . . . . .

* * *

Juvia didn't like the way people were staring at her. She was sitting on a bench outside the office of "Master Jose" while Gajeel went to speak with him. He told her to wait outside so she wouldn't bother them. Phantom had been looking for a water mage, he explained, and Juvia could be just the one for the job. They just needed Jose's approval.

"Go talk to her."

She heard this whisper and looked around for the speaker.

"She may not want anyone to talk to her. But she does look lonely…"

Not even a minute later, a young man slid next to her on the bench. She scooted away just a bit. They sat in silence and she observed him. He was tall and slender looking. One side of his hair was black and the other white, and it was tied up into a knot in the back. His eyes seemed to be deep black from the angle, and three or so lines went across his face. His attire consisted of black pants and a reddish gi, tied with a black obi.

He caught her looking and smiled at her.

She scooted away again, nearly falling of the bench.

"Hey there." He held out his hand to her, politely waiting for a handshake. After a few moments, she grabbed his hand and gave it a shake. "I'm Totomaru. Can I ask what your name is?"

"Juvia." She didn't want to say her last name again. "I'm Juvia."

They fell into silence again and didn't talk again for a while. Gajeel came back out as Totomaru started up a conversation again. He dragged her up.

"Go in. Jose wants a word with you."

. . . . . . . .

* * *

Jose looked scary to her.

His greasy hair just screamed creepy, and those big lips that smiled coldly at her made Juvia want to run. His eyes were deep, deep black, but a cold black, unlike Totomaru's. Whereas his had looked warm, like they were the smoldering remains of a fire, Jose's looked like they had ice freezing in their depths.

The old man waved a long fingered hand at a wooden stool. "Sit, sit, my girl."

Juvia put her umbrella down and did as she was told. Her hands folded up and squeezed each other in her lap. She pursed her lips.

Jose tilted his head, then reached up and adjusted his pointy hat. "My boy Gajeel tells me that you're a water mage, is that right?"

The girl hoped he didn't recognize her blue hair and eyes, the trademark of the Lockser's. He seemed like exactly the kind of person who would try to dry Gran of all her resources.

"Yes, sir. I am."

He lifted a purple-y eyebrow, smile still frozen. "I can sense it on you. A rain woman, am I right?"

"Yes, sir. … I am."

"Did Gajeel tell you why I'm taking an interest in you?" Jose leaned forward. His eyes were predatory, but his smile friendly. "My boy does tend to skip on some details."

Juvia reached up and fiddled with the fur on her hat. "H-he said nothing more than Jose-san is looking for a water mage." Her lips trembled. She didn't like being left alone with men, most likely due to her interactions with her father and Daniel. "So here Juvia is."

The Wizard Saint leaned back again. "You see, I'm creating a team of four mages that can use four types of magic: Air, fire, earth, and now, hopefully, water. Such a team could be the heavy hitters of Phantom Lord." His eyes flickered over her and he stood, walking towards her and reaching out a hand. "Would you like to meet the group so far."

The teenage girl let him guide her out of the office and into the back room. Gajeel shot her a look out of the corner of his red eye. It showed no concern, just curiosity.

Three men sat in the room. A fire crackled in the back, and one was sitting next to it, another was leaning against a bookcase, casually flipping through one book, and another was by himself in the corner, shaking and wiping at his large jawed face.

Juvia hadn't realized she'd stopped. Jose patted her back and somewhat pushed her in.

"Gentlemen, this young lady could be your new teammate. Care to introduce yourselves?" he said, smiling still. Juvia was starting to find it creepy. Well, creepier.

The men looked at them, got up from their seats, and lined up in front of the two newcomers and bowed deeply at their master. Juvia noticed that one of them was the boy, Totomaru. He looked up from his bow and gave her a wink.

The largest man stood up. Like the man next to him, he appeared at a good ten years or so older than Juvia. He was big and beefy, and his clothes billowed about him like there was some wind that Juvia couldn't feel, and didn't seem to be affecting anyone else besides him. A blindfold covered his eyes and tears leaked out quickly from behind it.

"I-I am A-A-Aria," he sobbed, pausing to blow into a handkerchief. He put it away, the tears gone for the moment, and lifted a hand. "I am the wind mage of the Element, er, Three, at the moment, and the strongest member." Juvia winced as the tears came again and he bowed. "P-p-pleased to meet you, M-M-Miss… ?"

"Lockser," said Jose.

Juvia jumped and turned her head quickly to look up at him. "How did Jose-sama-"

Jose patted her shoulder, waving his other hand. "Oh please. A water mage with blue hair and blue eyes? Those are clear signs of the Lockser Clan, my dear girl." He must have caught the look of trepidation in her eyes, because he said calmly. "Now, now, I wouldn't ever dream of harming you or using your wealth, Juvia-dono. I'd hate to get into a tangle with your grandmother, Marina Lockser. Her strength rivals mine, if not surpasses it."

The three men emerged from their bows and looked curious. Jose continued.

"After all, Marina Lockser is undoubtedly the strongest water mage in Fiore, and perhaps on the continent." He smiled, shaking his head. "Had she not retired so early to start her business and raise her young daughter, your mother, I imagine, the Council would have rewarded her with the rank of Wizard Saint. I imagine she taught you everything you know? One Lockser woman to another?"

"Y-yes, she did teach me. How do you know so much about my gran?"

"I do my homework. Of course, we'll keep your heritage a secret outside this room, my dear, precious girl. Aria, thank you for being so polite to Juvia-dono. Monsieur, you are next."

The next man literally bounced up. He could not seem to stop bouncing on his long, long legs. His small eyes glimmered at her, and his hair was a dark green. He wore a tight-fitting dark yellow suit and something like a shawl under his arms. A monocle was perched on his eye, and a small, thin smile was given to her.

"I am Monsieur Sol, the earth member of this team." Sol's voice carried a heavy accent, marring the words a bit. He kept bouncing. Juvia had to concentrate to not follow the movement. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mademoiselle Lockser."

"It's, uh, a pleasure to meet Sol-sama, too."

And Totomaru was up. He straightened, smiling at her and his master. "I've already briefly met Juvia-chan. But, here goes." He gave an exaggerated bow, the tips of his obi brushing the ground. "I am Totomaru, the fire mage of what I certainly hope will be the Element Four. And, Juvia-chan, I think you seem like a fine young lady."

Juvia blushed and looked away. "Good to see you again, Totomaru-sama."

He tossed a hand, looking comedically abashed. She could tell with a glimmer of joy that he was a joker. "Oh, please, you flatter me. 'Sama.' No, no, just Totomaru will do."

The blush faded and Juvia smiled. "Totomaru." Matching his bow, she curtsied. "It's so good to meet all of you." She smiled for the first time in a while.

. . . . . . . .

* * *

Jose had let her into the Element Four with only a brief testing of her abilities against Totomaru. She liked all of her fellow members greatly, but Jose and the others still scared her a bit. Juvia didn't like the way the men leered at her and whistled.

And then there was Gajeel Redfox. She didn't know what to make of him. He seemed like a cruel person, because Jose had sent her on a few jobs with him and she saw the Kurogane's ruthlessness up close, but he couldn't be that bad, because he'd saved her. So she was eternally looking for good little things to pick out in the rotten, black bits about him.

"I hate the rain," he told her bluntly as they went on their fifth job together.

Juvia winced. "So does Juvia. She guesses we have that in common."

He didn't respond, just grunted. "So, how's the group treatin' ya?"

She perked up a little. "Juvia likes her teammates greatly. Totomaru is especially nice to her."

Gajeel rolled his eyes. "Well, he's a pretty friendly guy, but he's one helluva fighter."

They lapsed back into the tense, stiff silence. She knew Gajeel preferred to keep his mind on the job, which in this case was to apprehend some thugs who'd taken refuge in a beaten-up, magical guns warehouse. Jose had decided that they would be the best to go up against them, since Juvia had mastered her Water Body spell and could now use it almost without thinking, and Gajeel could turn his skin into iron scales. Nearly nothing could hurt them.

"Okay, here it is, woman." Gajeel flattened himself against one side on the door. Juvia abandoned her umbrella and did the same on the other side. "You, er, leak in through the bottom and let me in. I don't want to bring 'em all runnin' yet, girlie."

She did as told and melted upward and reformed, opening the warehouse door quietly. Gajeel stalked in, melting into the shadows. Juvia followed closely. She knew she was too close when he spat at her. She shrugged and stepped back a little ways. A few minutes later of creeping along the crates and bins, he crouched down, grabbing her hand and dragging her down.

Juvia heard him muttering, "… seven, eight… Yup, eight, that's what's in the form. All of 'em are here, rain woman. Easy pickings."

She rolled her eyes. He saw. "Got a problem?" he hissed.

Juvia spoke up. "The job says that all of them are proficient with magical guns, Gajeel-san. Think for once, if you would. These crates are filled to the brim with magic guns. Not easy pickings."

Gajeel scowled at her, then turned, scratching the side of his head. "Fine, fine. Ready?"

Juvia shrugged. "As I'll ever be, yes."

It's safe to say that they had absolutely zero idea what hit them. One second they were laughing and showing off their new guns to each other, the next they were getting knocked into walls and crates and bins by rods of metal and waves of water. Upon finding the enemy mages, they shot over and over again, but not a single bullet hit them. If it did, it went right through, or bounced off.

Gajeel finished tying the last of them up using chains he'd conjured. His iron scales melted off and he stretched. "Told ya, rain woman, easy pickings."

Juvia had opened her mouth to sass him, annoyed with his patronizing attitude. But she assumed that the bullet shooting through his right lung got him for her. A sniper was running down the steel beams above, headed for a window near the roof, but Juvia waved a hand and he became encased in water. She lowered him near her, watching him with cold eyes as he blacked out, a desperate look in his eyes, and dropped him next to his companions.

The next instant she was next to Gajeel, pressing a hand to his wound, pursing her lips as she applied pressure. He was choking and sputtering up flecks of blood, but she had no doubt that he'd live. Kurogane wouldn't go down so easily.

She laid him down and snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Gajeel-san. Gajeel-san, please look at Juvia." Juvia grabbed his lolling head and jerked it towards her direction. "It's just a flesh wound, you'll get over it."

Within an hour she'd slightly stemmed the blood flow and taken him outside in the rain to lay on the soft, wet grass. He was staring at her from half-slitted eyes while she wiped blood off his chin with her handkerchief. His eyes flickered down to Bo-kun. Gajeel pointed.

"Whastha?" he mumbled, spitting blood onto the ground next to him.

Juvia mopped up his ribcage area again, peeling back his shirt. "A teru-teru bozu. They're said to keep the rain away."

He chuckled dryly. "Some good it did you, right?"

Her hand clutched the little white doll, hanging there on her partially-developed chest, protectively. "Bo-kun is Juvia's friend."

For some reason, he didn't mock her for that comment, but instead kept watching her as she worked on him, cleaning the wound and pressing her hand against it over and over. Juvia's navy eyes flickered to his face and a question was forming in her mouth.

"Why'd you save Juvia?"

Gajeel coughed. "Told ya. Wasn't right for a whole bunch of guys to be pickin' on ya. And I told you I sensed some-"

Juvia scoffed, something she didn't do often. "Magic? Juvia knows you weren't very close to her. She thinks that you couldn't have possibly sensed her magic levels until you'd gotten closer. That means you saved Juvia for some other reason, Gajeel-san."

He lapsed into silence for a few minutes. With an inward giggle, Juvia realized he was pouting, his lower lip stuck out slightly.

"It looked like you'd given up," he said finally. "I couldn't let someone do that in that situation. Because I know what it's like." She was startled when his hand came up to clasp her bloody one that she'd just raised from his body. The intensity in his blood red eyes smoldered. "Don't give up like that again. There's no point."

Juvia smiled a bit. "I wasn't going to, Gajeel-san."

That was the day he became Gajeel-_kun. _The two had many adventures together over the next couple of months. His favorite pastime was to tease her about her relationship with Totomaru, whom Juvia was probably closest to next to the Kurogane. This bewildered Juvia, but she typically ignored it and laughed about it with the boy whom she'd fondly nicknamed "Toto."

And then one day, they were on a job towards the East of Fiore, just the two of them. The rain poured steadily and Gajeel was scowling, dragging Juvia along by the hand. He adjusted his winter scarf, pouting as he usually did when something upset him.

"We ain't stayin' in that lousy town, Juvia," he spat, dragging her up the hill. "Not stayin' near anyone who doesn't treat ya with the proper respect. Just gotta find a place to stay."

Juvia fingered his wrist, hoping to catch his attention. "B-but Gajeel-kun, the next town is…" Her eyes widened, and eventually she was dragging him up the hill, smiling softly. Her long scarf fluttered and hit Gajeel in the face. He spluttered around it.

"Oi, rain woman. Where're we goin'?" he asked.

Gajeel didn't know about her status as a noblewoman. Jose had kept his word and kept it a secret outside the Element Four, but Juvia was certain it was okay for Gajeel to know.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," she assured, still dragging him. She balanced her umbrella in the other hand, smiling still.

Eventually they reached the landmark that told Juvia she was at the two mile mark; a tall, bushy hazel tree that smelled delightful when wet. Gajeel had stopped questioning and was walking alongside her, hefting his own umbrella on his shoulder. He was looking around as the servants quarters and orchards came into sight.

"Nice place," was all he said.

Gajeel stopped dead when the manor came into view, big and beautiful as Juvia remembered it since she left it half a year ago. His iron grip came around her wrist. "Woah, woah, Vi (a cute little name she'd heard him use a total of five times. It delighted her to have a nickname). This place… We're not welcome here. C'mon, let's head into the town over, and-"

Juvia tugged him along. "It'll be fine, Gajeel-kun. You trust Juvia, right?"

The unease rolled off him in waves, but he followed her through the gardens and up to the large, oak wood door. She grabbed the elegant knocker and pounded it against the doors once, twice, three times, then waited.

A young maid opened the door. "Hello, yes?" She was cute with brown hair in pigtails and big, light green eyes. Those eyes widened as she caught sight of Juvia. "Oh, come in, come in!"

Instead of unease, Juvia senses bewilderment from Gajeel. The maid bustled about. "I'm sorry I didn't recognize you at once! Oh, let me take your things!"

A butler came to help the little woman, and Juvia smiled, handing another servant her umbrella. She pried Gajeel's out of his shocked grip and gave it to him also. "Please take his things up to the guest room next to mine. And bring some milk tea and cake to the waiting room."

His red orbs flickered to her, then back around the grand entry hall. "Juvia, wh-what?"

She just smiled at him. "Make yourself at home." She strolled off in the direction she knew was the sitting room. After a few seconds, he followed, handing his wet scarf and jacket to another butler who was pestering him for it.

"These people just let us in! And they- And this- How-?"

He was cut off by her laughing. She'd seated herself in a plush white chair; her favorite one right by the fireplace and near the table. Tears pricked her eyes she was laughing so hard. Gajeel blushed. He liked seeing her laugh, since she usually wore a gloomy and cold expression, and he also felt stupid.

"Go on, Gajeel-kun, Juvia wants you to guess." She swung her legs like a little kid while he sat down on the end of a brown sofa next to her.

He stared, then decided to make a game out of it. "Illusion magic?" She shook her head. "You've enslaved all these people." She laughed again and shook her curls. Gajeel drummed his fingers against his chin in mock thought. "Oh, you're the master here, right?"

Juvia smiled. The flames made the side of her face facing them warm, instead of the usual cold. "I am the inheritor of the Lockser Manor, yes. This is my home, Gajeel-kun." She leaned back, suddenly tired. "I wonder if my gran is here."

Gajeel leaned back as well. "Never would've guessed you were a noble, Juvia. Look at you, a princess who lived the luxury life to be a mage in a dirty little pub." He laughed.

Juvia looked down, remembering the little shack and her family. She hadn't seen James or Ariel, her father and mother, since she left that place. They'd never tried contacting her, so she didn't want to bother them.

She looked into the flames. "I wasn't always a princess."

Gajeel's ears twitched, an odd habit of his to show he was listening and interested.

"I used to live in a little tiny shack with my parents and my-" The words choked in her throat, but she forced them out. The felt slimy coming out. "-big brother. There was barely any food on the table, and most of our money went to my father's drinks." She paused, remembering vividly the smell of her mother's shepherd pie and the sting of alcohol in her nostrils. "Mother and Father were mages. Both of them were water mages. Of course Mother would be, since she's a Lockser. We're a proud clan of mages, you know."

He watched her. The girl wasn't watching him anymore or talking to him, instead looking across the room with a misty look and a far off voice. But he still listened.

"Only got rich when Gran and Gramps started up their business when my mother was a little girl, but Mother and Father wouldn't accept financial aid after they got married. I suspect it was Father's fault." Juvia's lips folded and she gripped herself. "My big brother and father didn't like me. They beat me regularly, you see. That's why I always cover up, but I've learned to use my Water Body to hide the marks. But it's just habit now."

Gajeel watched her, taking note of the fact that she wasn't using her usual speech pattern.

"Daniel did all sorts of horrible things. Broke my arms, beat me, cut me, and my father followed in like. I'm surprised I'm alive after spending eleven years in that place." Her misty eyes looked even further now. "He's dead now. I killed him with the rain. He tripped and fell, and Gran took me away, because Gramps had died only a while before and she was lonely. She said it was also because Mother wasn't in a position to take care of me."

He swallowed. This story was darker than he'd thought.

Juvia focused on him suddenly, closed her eyes, and leaned back. "I lived here for four years then I left. The life of a princess suited me, but it felt wrong, if that makes sense. I wanted to go to my roots, be a mage like everyone else before me." She smiled, leaning forward and opening her eyes. "Did you know that my Gran-"

"-has missed you dreadfully and is wondering why you've not sent a letter for two months? Boy, did you know?"

Marina Lockser had entered the room, kicking open the door and carrying a tray of cake and tea. Gajeel stared at her. She didn't look too old, so it was a shocker that she was, as he assumed, a grandmother. She couldn't be a servant, because she was wearing an elegant gray gown and red slippers. He started and realized that she was waiting for an answer.

"N-no ma'am, I didn't know she hadn't written, or that she even had a grandmother!" he sputtered awkwardly, sitting up straight.

The woman sniffed and set down the tray. Juvia shot out of her seat and tackled her. It struck Gajeel how alike they looked, except that the older woman's eyes were a lighter, pale crystal blue. Juvia looked near tears as her grandmother rubbed her head and spoke gently to her, over her little snit.

The woman let her granddaughter go and looked at Gajeel. Thinking it polite, he stood up to greet her. Normally he wouldn't do that, but this was Juvia's family and one of the richest people in the country, no doubt. He contemplated bowing, but that seemed over the top.

"What's your name, my dear?" she asked.

That was the first time he'd been called "dear." After a few seconds, he brought his eyes to hers (she was just a bit shorter than him), and said, "Gajeel Redfox, ma'am. I'm a friend of Juvia's."

She smiled teasingly. "Handsome young man like you, just 'a friend?' I wouldn't believe it, but if you say so." She patted his shoulder and sat down in a chair across from the couch, picking up a plate of cake. "I'm Marina Lockser, Juvia's grandmother, if you haven't guessed." Marina looked over at Juvia, who was helping herself to the largest piece of cake, and said, "What were you saying about me before I walked in?"

Juvia stopped, fork still in her mouth. "Juvia was telling Gajeel-kun that it's the family tradition to be mages. She was saying that if you hadn't retired, you would've been a Wizard Saint, like our master."

Marina waved a hand, giggling into the other. "Oh, that's silly. They never would've-"

"Gran, they approached you right before you retired."

Gajeel eyed the woman. This lady was on the same level as Jose? He had to admit, that was impressive. "Why'd you retire, Marina-san?" Using honorifics was odd, because he wasn't a courteous person. "Injury?"

Marina lifted a freshly poured cup of tea to her mouth and stopped when it was by her lips. She looked at Gajeel over the rim. "I had my only child, Juvia's mother, when I was eighteen. My husband and I started up this business, and there was no time to be a mage, unfortunately, between being the owner of a fast growing business and the mother of a little girl."

"Were you an independent mage, or did you belong to a guild?" Gajeel asked.

"Independent. But still, I was constantly flooded with requests from across this side of the country." She sighed, putting her cup back on it's platter. "So stressful."

The three finished their conversation and Juvia led Gajeel up to his guest room, right next to hers. The two decided to take the opportunity to go on a little vacation for a few days, hoping Jose wouldn't mind their absence. Juvia was excited to show Gajeel around the place she'd lived for four years, and that she did. She showed him the orchards and the fields of wild flowers, the gardens and every room the manor had to offer.

The first place she took him in the town, a prosperous place called Azalea, was a blacksmith's shop. The old man there greeted "Lady Juvia" gruffly and regarded Gajeel with a cold gaze. Her request for the finest iron scraps he had bewildered him, but he offered them up and she payed him. Gajeel enjoyed munching on them as she dragged him around the farmers market and into a museum, and finally into a little cafe that she seemed very familiar with.

"Everyone here seems to love you," Gajeel said, opening up his umbrella and pocketing his remaining iron. "Why leave?"

Juvia was taking large strides, putting her hand out in the rain. "There was a boy. While you were eating, the woman in the cafe told me he left to join a guild called Quatro Cerebrus. He said something that just got to me, and I decided that sitting in my fancy mansion wasn't what I wanted to do my whole life."

Gajeel knew that if he had a fancy mansion and people who liked him, he wouldn't want to leave, but Juvia was Juvia and she was weird, so he left her alone.

Upon departing, Marina (who had taken an immense liking to Gajeel, since Juvia liked him so much and he treated her nicely for the most part) reminded him, "If you ever pass through this area and need a place to stay, it won't ever be a bother to come here. I'm make sure that the servants recognize you."

Gajeel took her up on the offer and followed Juvia down the stone path through the property grounds. They returned to Phantom Lord happy (as they could get, for they were not exactly a happy pair) and refreshed, ready for more jobs.

Over the next year and a half, they had many adventures and became as close as two could get. A guild filled with rude people, they liked to taunt that Juvia was Gajeel's hooker, and whenever they left somewhere together, it was to do something nasty. But Juvia just ignored them and Gajeel beat them up.

And then came the fateful time when it fell apart.

"Why would Juvia like Toto like that?" she said, picking up a pot and dumping its contents into the strainer. They were in Gajeel's apartment, since it was a bit bigger than Juvia's, and had a nicer kitchen despite the fact that he couldn't use it. "Toto is just Juvia's good friend."

Gajeel chuckled, sitting cross-legged on the table. He tugged at a tight curl as she passed (her hair was down in looser curls today). He liked the way it bounced and shone in the light. "No reason. Ya two are just awfully chummy, gihi."

Juvia rolled her eyes. "Juvia assures Gajeel-kun that Toto and she don't like each other that way."

The man hopped down from the table, his boots thudding on the floor. He tossed an arm around her shoulders as she put the pot back on the stove. "Aww, 'Toto.' You've even got a little pet name for 'im."

Juvia's eyes hurt from rolling them.

The air around Gajeel turned serious as he pulled away. Juvia followed him with her sore eyes. Gone was the jovial and teasing smile. He leaned against the counter, grabbing a piece of celery and chewing on it.

"Heard Jose's latest job request?"

She shook her head no.

Gajeel then reached for another part of their dinner. He talked around the food. "Some little chick has joined Fairy Tail. She's a runaway from the Heartfilia family. Marina's a friend of her dad's, right?"

Juvia thought of the way her gran growled whenever she read a letter from Jude Heartfilia. "Not really, no."

"Meh, whatever. Anyway, the job is from her pops. He wants her back, so, he wants Jose to bring Fairy Tail to the ground."

Juvia almost dropped her spoon, drip drip dropping with creamy sauce. The glee in his voice startled her. "Bring Fairy Tail to the ground?" She looked at him, shocked. "That's illegal!"

Gajeel shrugged, swallowing the last bit of chicken. "That's the job, hot stuff." His eyes narrowed. "It'll be dangerous. Those flies won't be happy, y'know. Especially after what I did to them."

She looked at him. "What did you do, Gajeel-kun?" Her knife cut into the tomato harshly. Juice spurted on her apron. She felt scared for him.

Again with the shrugging, he said, "Jose wanted me to leave a little message for 'em, so I just wrecked their guild hall a bit." His cruel, cold smile that made Juvia feel like she didn't know him spread across his face. "And tonight, oh tonight will be rich."

Her voice was getting quieter. "What's tonight?"

"I'll attack some of those punks, show 'em their place."

And that's what he did. He came back into town with hardly a scratch on him. He knew Juvia was waiting in front of town, because it was raining. Her lips were pursed and she was clutching her teru-teru bozu. Gajeel grinned at her, asking in his casual manner "what was up?"

"I've been ordered to capture the Heartfilia girl."

. . . . . . . .

* * *

_Why was he so perfect?_

_ That hair… And those eyes… And that magic…_

Perfect, that was Juvia's impression of the man, Gray, standing in front of her, panting as he tried to catch his breath. At least, that was what it had been a minute ago before he called her gloomy. Now he was just like the rest and needed to be gone gone gone. If Gajeel could've seen her as she was only a minute ago, blushing and squeaking, he'd be laughing his head off, but he was taking custody of Lucy Heartfilia (HER LOVE RIVAL) at the moment.

With a yell of rage, Juvia sent a blast of scalding water at him once again. No way was this Fairy Tail mage going to freeze her water again. But he fought against it, his body steaming as he tried to cast his ice magic.

Her eyes widened with anger as she shouted. "I am one of the Element Four! A proud mage of the Phantom Lord guild, and I will not be defeated!" Her heart felt like bursting as she spoke and thought of Toto and Gajeel-kun, Aria and Sol. "Everyone else shunned me, but they took me in! You won't beat me!"

Juvia's words seemed to fuel Gray further, and he fought to cast a spell even harder. "Proud? How can you be proud to be part of such a horrible guild?!"

And he froze it, the impact sending Juvia flying. With shock, she noticed even the rain drops freezing. Such powerful magic…

Then she was frozen, screaming in pain for a moment. With a few cracks, the ice broke apart and she was falling. Falling down into the water below. The impact would kill her for sure, of that there was no doubt. Clenching her eyes closed, Juvia waited… waited… waited.

A warm hand closed over her own, jerking her to a sudden stop. Juvia's navy blue eyes flew open. Gray was leaning over the edge, holding onto her, looking quite concerned.

"Don't worry!" he shouted, straining to pull her back up. "I'll never let you fall! You'll be okay, I promise!"

Her heart skipped a beat, then another as he brought her back to the top and laid her down on the roof. Gasping, he sat down next to her. She watched him, taking in his wet black hair and sweaty skin. He looked like a mess.

Oh.

Oh no.

She was definitely in love.

Unsure of what to do, her lips moved, and finally she choked out, "Why'd you save Juvia?"

He ran a hand through his unruly hair. "Just because. Now get some rest."

Her eyes watered at his kindness and she might have started crying at that moment, but an unfamiliar sensation came over her. Something dazzling and brilliant hit her eyes and she winced, shutting them.

Gray sounded cheerful. "Hey, Juvia, look. The sun's comin' out."

Her eyes widened as the clouds began to part for the first time in her life. Her mouth dropped open.

"The… blue sky."

The man looked down at her, curious. "What's the matter?"

Tears were gathering again as she took in the color she'd never seen and the birds flying high. "I've never… seen it?"

His eyes gave a look of pity and surprise, but he looked happy for her. "Really? Well, there it is. Pretty, don'tcha think?"

The tears spilled out. "Beautiful."

. . . . . . . .

* * *

She woke up alone on the roof, the sky now completely clear. All sounds of fighting were gone, and the robot had stopped moving. Juvia lied there, mouth still open, taking in the sky and the peace in filled her with. After a few minutes, though she could've laid there for hours, she shakily stood up, very sore.

Gajeel was sitting there on his back in the wreckage. Stumbling only a bit, she made her way towards him.

"Who's that?" he snapped.

He couldn't recognize her without the rain or its smell.

"He beat you, didn't he, Gajeel-kun?"

Juvia could see him stiffen up and struggle to sit upright. He looked at her, eyes widening. She smiled, crying once again.

"Vi, how? The rain-" Such was his shock that he simply stopped to look from her to the sky, like he could be missing the familiar wet that had almost constantly surrounded him for two years.

With a sudden spurt of energy, Juvia ran forward and threw herself on him, sobbing happily for the first time in her life. "It's gone, Gajeel-kun. It left Juvia. It's gone gone gone. He made it go away. It was him."

Awkwardly, Gajeel tapped her back, the closest he could get to a hug in his sore and weary condition. "Who's he?"

She pulled back, still smiling and crying. "Gray. One of the Fairy Tail mages, Gajeel-kun. He made the rain go away." Juvia hugged him again. "He made it go away…"


	3. The Place I Want to Love

A/N: I'm sorry the update took so long. I've been caught up writing my novel, which I think could be coming along quite nicely. And also, thank you for all your support and remember, reviews are appreciated!

* * *

. . . . . . .

Juvia peeked around the corner of a crate. There was Gray, working away at the rebuilding of the guild. She blushed as she realized that his shirt had vanished once again. Her fingers worked nervously on a brass button from her coat, and she bit her lip, wondering that if "observing" him was too creepy. Probably yes, the mage decided, but she continued.

Juvia just _had _to find a way to get into Fairy Tail. Not only for her Gray-sama, but because she knew she couldn't remain an independent mage for so long. She wasn't like Gran; her fame wasn't so widespread that she would get a flood of requests as an independent mage. And she wondered where Gajeel-kun was; she'd have to bring him along.

Toto had been the only one to tell her what he was going to do. Everyone else had vanished without a word, dispersing. She knew that some of them would join dark guilds. Some would join official guilds, some would be independent, maybe some would just give up being mages.

"I'll be a teacher!" Totomaru told her proudly as they sat in the remains of the battle. She was rubbing dirt and scrap metal out of Gajeel's wounds while he talked. "I'm going to travel for a while, get even better, then I'll teach Fire Magic to kids."

"That sounds great!" she told him.

Juvia had a plan, too. Get into Fairy Tail. She just needed to find a way to get in. Would they even let her join after all the grief she caused them? Maybe. She was just more worried about Gajeel-kun getting in. After all, he wrecked their hall, nearly killed three of them, and tortured the Heartfilia (LOVE RIVAL) girl.

"I'm going home!" she heard Gray shout. "Be back tomorrow."

Juvia shouldered her backpack further. She'd head back to her inn, too. Making sure no one was watching, she crept behind the crates until she was out of the construction zone. Juvia smiled while she walked, looking up at the sky. She reached her hand up to it, wondering if she could touch those fluffy white wisps of water. The warmth of the sun bathed her skin.

She would forever love the feeling.

The inn she was staying at was on the very edge of town, and therefore not fantastic. She hardly ever got sleep; the person below her stayed up all night drinking and swearing (bringing back unpleasant memories of her father), and the people in the room next to her had sex all the time. All. The. Damn. Time.

She took a shower and changed into her flannel pajamas, then sat down at the miniscule desk the room provided. Out of her bag came a silver letter opener (a gift from Aria for her last birthday) and she cut open the lapel to a blue envelope. The remains of the gray wax seal crumbled on the desk. She swept them off.

Her grandmother's official parchment, red and blue, was nearly empty. It had only a few sentences on it.

_Juvia,_

_I heard about your guild and Fairy Tail. Also that your guild disbanded. Are you alright? Do you want to come home?_

_Love you lots,_

_Gran_

She took her own parchment from a desk drawer, opened up a little ink bottle, and began to write her own reply.

_Gran,_

_I'll be home soon. Give me a month or so._

_Love you more,_

_Juvia_

* * *

. . . . . . . .

"There goes the last of Juvia's savings," she muttered, fiddling with her short dress. She'd never worn a dress so short, and it made her feel naked.

The savings had gone to buying a ticket of Akane Resort. Gray and his team had gone there, looking for some time off. She'd ask him to join the guild there, she decided when she bought the ticket, because he'd be calm and in a good mood, and less likely to maybe possibly attack her if there were people around.

Now she was sitting on a cliff overlooking the ocean, marveling at the glassy look of it without the rain. The salt air was warm and wet, and so thick that if she waved her hand, she could pull a string of salt water out of the air.

"Gajeel-kun wouldn't like this," she said to herself. "The 'water would rust his iron.'" She looked down to the beach below on her left. "Juvia wonders if Gray-sama is enjoying himself. She hopes so."

Later that night, she was squirming into a tight, low-cut blue dress. Her jaw dropped when she looked at herself in the mirror, and she almost pulled on a hoodie or something. She was showing far too much chest! And so much bare leg! But she swallowed her anxieties, threw on her new necklace, and exited the room.

She found him sitting at a card table, after an hour of searching (and playing some games herself. It was quite fun.). Swallowing, she took a wobbly step forward, then another, and another, coming closer and closer to the man of her dreams. He was rolling his eyes and shaking his head about something.

"Uh… uh, Gray-sama?"

He jumped and turned around. Confusion was spread across his features for a moment, then recognition. It was too cute to watch. "Juvia?" he said, taking her in. She blushed and watched him adoringly. "What are you-"

"J-J-Juvia came to see Gray-sama about, uh, something. Sh-she's really sorry to pop in during your vacation time."

They stared at each other. Finally, he got up from his seat. "C'mon. If you wanna talk so bad, I'll buy you a drink. That cool?"

"Cool? Yes, it is!"

He was so nice!

"So, what's so important that you had to drag yourself all the way to the coast for?" She didn't answer, but stirred her drink, humming happily. His eyes went down to her flashy necklace. "I heard Phantom Lord disbanded. That makes you an independent mage, but you've got your eye on Fairy Tail, huh?"

Her head snapped up, and she clapped her hands in front of her chest. "Yes, I do!"

"Well," He took a sip of his drink, "I don't have any problem with it, but it might be hard to convince Master Makarov, you know."

The master seemed like a reasonable person, but she still said earnestly, "I'll do whatever it takes!"

And then came a new voice. "Excuse me, are you Gray Fullbuster?"

They both stopped talking and turned. She didn't notice him lightly move his arm towards her, a mildly protective movement. If she had seen it, no doubt she would've fangirled and fainted. His eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, who're-"

The area between them exploded. Juvia yelped as she was thrown a foot or so. The air had been knocked out of her, and she lay there on the ground, twitching and groaning. Pathetic, Gajeel-kun would've told her no doubt. But then he would've helped her up and brushed her off, gruffly asking if she was okay. Toto would've swooped in heroically and dramatically to pick her up, asking if the fair damsel was okay. The thoughts of her old friends twisted her painful grimace into a pained smile.

"Juvia!" Her heart leapt for a moment upon hearing her name come out of his mouth. "Who are you? What do you want?!"

Shakily, she tried to get up, but fell back down and huffed for air.

"Where is Erza Scarlet?" she heard the man ask.

"Why the hell do you want Erza?" Gray snarled.

Juvia used the half of the bar still standing to get to her feet. The man, tall and beefy, seemed to be receiving a contact, since he said, "You found her? Yes, understood. I'll be right there."

She turned to water and shot in front of Gray, swirling back into solid form. "Not another step closer, sir. I won't let you hurt Gray-sama."

"Juvia-" he said warningly.

"Go," she said in a gentle voice, speaking to Gray. "Erza-san could be in danger. I'll handle this man and let you go after her."

Everything went black then. She couldn't see in front of her, and squeaked.

"Wh-what the hell?"

There was a charge of magic from in front of her, she could feel, and without hesitation she reverted back to water, grabbed Gray inside of her, and cowered behind a piece of wreckage, acting like she was unconscious. She could feel Gray fidgeting, coming to understand what was going on. The lights came back on. The man looked around, saw an ice clone (Gray-sama was so smart!) and the "unconscious" Juvia, and left.

They kept sitting there.

Five minutes later, Lucy Heartfilia came running up. "Gray!" she shrieked. "Gray, some freaks took Erza- Are you okay?" She screamed when Ice Gray fell apart and began trying to piece him back together. "I-I broke you? I'm sorry, sorry!"

"Lucy, it's okay."

Juvia lifted herself up, dripping and then solidifying. "He's okay. I hid him inside my Water Body. Hear that, Love Rival? He was inside me, not you!"

Lucy simply stared at her, blushing. Juvia wondered why. Was she jealous that she'd gotten to protect Gray-sama? Probably. "You're that girl from Phantom."

"Not anymore. Phantom is disbanded." Juvia shrugged.

"Is that so?" Lucy tried to sound friendly, but she was clearly panicking. Juvia couldn't tell if it was because she'd just witnessed the kidnapping of _the_ Erza Scarlet, or because this was the woman who'd captured her only a short month ago. "I'm… sorry."

"Juvia… doesn't particularly care."

A lie.

"Hey, where's Natsu?" Gray had decided to speak up.

"And Happy," Lucy added.

The two went running off, Juvia forgotten. Unsure of what to do, she followed, slipping off her high heels to run better. They searched the area of the casino he was seen in last time, calling out his name. Eventually, they heard Lucy cry out, "Natsu!" and rushed over. He was slumped down, unmoving, and Lucy was shaking his shoulders, frantic.

"Is he-?" Juvia almost asked, but decided it was insensitive.

"OUCH!"

The trio jumped as Natsu bolted into consciousness, grabbing his jaw and jumping up. "That blockhead! That-that really hurt!"

"Yeah, and it would've killed anyone besides you," Lucy muttered, getting to her feet. "We've got a problem, Natsu. Those guys who attacked us took Erza."

"And Happy!" Natsu shouted, not lowering his voice at all. Juvia flinched and covered her ears. He was indeed loud. "I don't see my little buddy anywhere!"

So they all got changed, headed down to the dock, and readied a small boat. Natsu was screaming and begging not to be taken on board, but Juvia and Gray tossed him in together. He looked over at her.

"You don't have to come along. In fact, why are you?" he asked.

Juvia hopped in the boat next to Lucy. "Well… Juvia feels like it's the right thing to do. You three could use all the help you could get, and if you don't mind my saying, I'm quite strong."

Gray shrugged and stepped in as well. "Fair enough."

* * *

. . . . . . . .

Juvia didn't feel at home with the three. That made sense, because she barely knew them, but they seemed to be wary of her. Gray yelled at her for simply stating that Erza had been kidnapped by powerful mages. And when she'd apologized, mortified that she'd made the love of her life upset, Lucy had eyed her and rudely asked, "What's your deal?"

She put them on the edge and she didn't like it.

At least Natsu-san was friendly enough, but he couldn't even remember her name for more than thirty seconds.

It made her even more nervous when Erza shouted at them to go home. Didn't she appreciate that someone had come to help her? Juvia knew she would be overjoyed if someone came for her.

The last straw was being stuck with Love Rival Lucy. Screaming on the inside, she followed Gray's orders and hid her panic from Lucy, acting as calm as possible. Lucy kept on looking at her, like she might jump her and attack at any minute. Part of Juvia couldn't blame her, because Juvia had kidnapped her, but the other part was annoyed. She'd just helped them get into this tower. Couldn't they trust her?

"Salamander-san?" Juvia shouted.

"He's probably looking for Happy. He'll find him soon, I'm sure," Lucy assured, though she looked worried.

"If his nose is anything like Gajeel-kun's, then I'm sure, too."

Lucy stared. "You call him Gajeel-_kun?_"

Juvia shrugged and continued walking ahead. Lucy called after her and ran a bit to catch up. Within seconds, they were together again, looking and shouting and going down every hall they saw, frantically searching for Natsu.

"You ladies ready to rock?!"

"What the-" Lucy started, then covered her ears at the sound that followed. "What's this noise?"

Juvia nodded appreciatively. "Juvia thinks he's pretty good."

"You like this?"

A man appeared above them, pale and tall, long black hair dragging on the floor. His eyes focused on them and his tongue wagged. "Two hot ladies! I'm lucky today!"

Juvia winced. His voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard. It reminded her of a time when Daniel had ran a rusty nail over a chalkboard, forcing her to listen to it. That wasn't a very pleasant moment.

"I assume you're in league with Jellal-san?" Juvia said, readying her hand. She'd blast him off that ledge onto the ground where Lucy could get a shot at him.

"None of your busi-"

He got blasted in the face with a jet of boiling water. That ought to have done it, she thought. And then the water began to disappear with a sucking sound, and with a queasy feeling, she saw that he'd absorbed it.

"Where'd it go?" Lucy asked, wringing her hands. "You got him, I saw."

Vidaldus hopped down from the ledge, swinging his now very shiny hair. "A good rinse is great for your hair. Thanks, babe."

Juvia scowled, clenching her fists. It would be up to Lucy. If he could absorb her water, she was useless.

The rocker frowned for a moment, studying them both. Lucy flinched back, creeped out, but Juvia had had weirder guys looking at her. She lifted her chin and stared him down. He shook his head and began mumbling to himself, pointing at one woman, then to another.

"Which one of you to make my Succubus?" he asked. "Eenie meenie minie mo, I choose- you!" The finger landed on Juvia. She blinked. "Let the spell begin!"

The music began playing again. A tugging sensation started in her gut and she felt like she was going to fall to her knees. She screamed. Lucy backed away, then advanced towards Juvia.

"Juvia? What's going on?"

"Run, Lucy!"

She blacked out then for just a moment. When she woke up a few seconds later, she felt like she was floating. Her head throbbed. What she wanted to do was massage her temples, hoping to ease the pain, but her arms didn't respond. She tried to open her mouth to talk to Lucy, who was looking at her fearfully. Her lips didn't move.

"Ready to rock, bitch?"

Well, that didn't sound like her at all.

"Go on, Juvia-chan! Give her a beating!" he screamed.

When she attacked Lucy, she became fully and disturbingly aware that she was not in control of her body any way, shape, or form. She wanted to scream at Lucy to run, because there was no doubt that she was outmatched and didn't want her to get hurt, even if they were Love Rivals.

"Juvia, what in the world?" Lucy tied her headband around her bare chest. "If you want to join Fairy Tail, you'll never get in by attacking your friends!"

_I know, I KNOW!_

Lucy squeaked as Juvia's arm became a water whip, beating her repeatedly across the back. Fighting against the floating sensation, Juvia focused as much as she could, willing her body to stop.

_Let me go, let me out, I DON'T WANT THIS._

Lucy was drowning now, bubbles rising from her lips as Juvia encased her with hot water.

_Lucy?_

The blonde's eyes snapped open, looking around. Juvia couldn't tell what she was thinking, but being a smart girl, she seemed to understand that she was hearing the uncontrolled part of Juvia.

_I'm sorry. This really shouldn't have happened. I just wanted to try and be friends. I'm not good at making friends, you see, so I'm sure it's been going badly…_

If Lucy hadn't been drowning and literally dying for air, she would've had a stronger look of sympathy on her face. She was sure it looked more like a very pained grimace.

Juvia started to cry. _I want to join Fairy Tail. I really do. I love everyone in it. Natsu-san, Gray-sama, Erza-san, even you, though you're my Love Rival. But… no one wants a rain woman who can bring absolutely nothing but sadness!_

Vidaldus had pity on Lucy, letting Juvia drop her to the floor. The busty girl gasped for breath and looked over at Juvia. There was a new look in her eyes; determination. Wobbly and out of breath, she stumbled to her feet, smiling.

"I knew it." Steady now, she pointed at Juvia. "I knew you were a good person! Because anyone who cries for their friends is welcome in Fairy Tail!"

"Lucy…" Juvia said; her mind and her body. She was regaining control.

"Stop rambling, little girl! Now's the time to send her to Hell!" the madman cackled.

Juvia felt her mind and body disconnect once again, like a door slamming in her face suddenly. "Oh, I'll send her to Hell alright."

_Lucy,I'm sorry…_

Lucy whipped out a key, placing it in the current of water (Juvia's body). "Open, Gate of the Water Bearer!" She coughed out a mouthful of water, continuing. "Aquarius!"

A mermaid, beautiful and queenly, rose from the water, bearing an urn spilling even more water. Her face contorted with rage. "I WAS ON A DATE!" she roared.

Lucy and Juvia were flooded away by the sudden outpour from her urn.

"Too much water, too much water!" Juvia screeched for the first time in her life, finding herself in control again.

"Take my hand! Juvia!" Lucy shouted, swimming towards her. She reached out a hand.

Juvia spit out a bit of liquid. "Lucy!"

Their hands connected. Juvia felt a strange sensation rushing through her from her core down through her fingertips and into Lucy. She'd read about this once in the extensive collection of magic books in the Lockser Manor: A Unison Raid.

Water rushed past them, taking on a violent sort of current. It caught Vidaldus in and swept him away. His hair started sucking up the water. "Woah, woah! This is too much for my hair to handle! Stop, ladies, stop!"

He sucked it all up, leaving Lucy drenched and Juvia drying already. She was back to normal, out of those, awful, immodest clothes. Lucy hopped up, smiling and squeaking joyfully. She hugged Juvia suddenly, startling her. A girl besides her grandmother and mother had never hugged her before.

"We won!"

Juvia hugged her back, thoroughly excited herself. "And I'm not a groupie anymore!"

Lucy pulled back and smiled at her. She looked like she would cry, but she just fell over onto the ground. "Y'know, you could just call me Lucy." Juvia stared down at her. "And I wouldn't have any anxieties about joining Fairy Tail if I were you. I'm sure you'll fit right in. We laugh with our friends, we cry with our friends. It's your kind of place, Juvia."

Juvia didn't realize she was crying until she unconsciously tapped her cheeks. "Ah, it's raining from Juvia's eyes!"

"Raining? That's a cute way to put it."

* * *

. . . . . . . .

When Juvia woke up again, she was being loaded onto a boat. Gray and Lucy were sitting next to each other, talking quietly. The pang of jealousy woke Juvia up and she bolted into a stiff sitting position. "What is this? Where are Juvia and Lucy and Gray-sama?"

"Simon said we're friends now," a girl said. She had short brown hair in pigtails and a cat-like face. "And he told us to leave, so…" Now she looked sad, and the blonde boy next to her hugged her.

"It… It'll be okay, Millie," said another man. He was blocky and Juvia flinched in surprise. She bumped into Gray and he snickered, putting a hand on her shoulder.

They started sailing away. Juvia looked around the small boat. "Where are Natsu-san and Erza-san?"

Lucy looked like she might start crying. Juvia put her hand over hers. "We… had to leave them behind. But it's Natsu and Erza, so I'm sure they'll be okay."

"Aye," solemnly agreed the blue cat sitting on her head.

Everything was smooth sailing (ha, get it) until the point when they saw a bright light in the sky.

"What is that?" Gray said. He sounded a bit scared. Juvia was reminded in that moment that he was only human. "It's…"

"-radiating magic like nothing I've ever felt!" Juvia said.

It hit the tower, sending out a wave of energy that shook even the ocean. She felt its displeasure at being disturbed.

"The boat is coming apart!" the blond boy said.

Juvia scowled and waved her hand, encircling the boat in a bubble of salt water. The restless waves rocked them further and further away and shook the foundations of her spell, but Juvia held on.

"Erza and Natsu are in there!" Happy screamed.

"Natsu!" Gray yelled. "Erza!"

The ocean calmed down. Dizzy and sick (the block man threw up, much to Juvia's displeasure), they found that the Tower of Heaven had transformed into something more… crystal-y.

"What's-" Gray started.

"Was that its function?" Juvia asked the brunette girl: Millianna, she thought was her name. "To absorb all that magic?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah. That's what it was built to do. And now… Now Jellal can resurrect Zeref using Er-chan's body."

"That's insane!" Lucy burst out.

Juvia frowned, anxiety welling up in her. "Yes, it is. But now we just have to wait and see what happens."

* * *

Of course Juvia had been somewhat ignored when the friends and guild mates reunited, but she was expecting that, so she was fine. The most she received was a big hug from Erza, followed by tearful thank you's.

Gray stopped by her, letting Lucy have a go at Erza. "Hey, thanks."

Juvia looked over at him, blushing. "For what?"

He ran a hand through his damp hair. "Well, you helped save Erza. And you didn't even _have _to, you just… you just did. And that's really cool."

She stared at him deadpan, but her heart leapt into her throat. _HE THINKS I'M COOL!_

"It-It really was nothing…"

"No," he corrected. He looked at her, smiling slightly but still the most she'd ever seen him smile. "It was everything."

* * *

. . . . . . . .

"One, two, three…" She was so nervous she was counting the brush strokes she applied to her newly cut hair. Not having curls was odd. "Four, five, six…"

She adjusted her new dress, a pretty white one with blue wave patterns on the bottom. She picked up her hat and adjusted it. Finally, she was ready to go to Fairy Tail and see if she could get in. A few days before she'd told Gray she was headed back to Magnolia to talk to Master Makarov about getting in. And now she was.

Resting a hand over her stomach, as though that could cure the butterflies, she stopped in front of the door and looked up. The building had been finished. She thought it looked even more beautiful than before.

"Deep breaths, Juvia. Really, really deep breaths."

Slowly, very slowly that it almost hurt her, people turned to look at her as she walked through the guild hall. A beautiful woman with snow white hair stopped serving drinks and looked at her. She jumped, but regained her smile and walked into Juvia's path.

"Hi! I'm Mirajane Strauss, can I help you?"

"Nee-chan, that's-" A very tall man stepped in front of his sister, looking down at Juvia with a mix of hostility and fear. "She's-"

Mirajane patted his side. "Oh, I know who she is, Elfman. No need to get worked up. You're Miss Juvia, formerly from Phantom Lord, right?"

Juvia jumped at her kind tone. She hadn't been expecting hostility, no, she expected better from Fairy Tail, but she hadn't been expecting such kindness. "Yes, I am. I'm… not here to cause any trouble."

"Of course you're not. So, can I help you? Oh, sorry about my little brother." Mira now pushed Elfman out of the way, taking Juvia's hand in hers.

Juvia looked down at the skin almost as pale as hers. "I'm… looking for the master, Mirajane-sama."

"Oh, so that's what this is about. Come this way, please."

People whispered as they walked through the guild hall towards the back bar. A few gave her rude looks, some scared, others welcome smiles. She tried to smile back, but it was hard. Never had so many people smiled at her before in her life.

"Master?" Mirajane said, stopping in front of the bar. Makarov Dreyar looked up at them, bleary-eyed. Had he been napping? "Miss Juvia is here."

"Juvia?" he asked, confused. "The young woman from Phantom?"

"I'm terribly sorry about that incident!" she blurted out, bowing so fast that her hat almost fell off. "I'll do anything to make up for it!"

People in earshot looked over at her. A stunning brunette put down a barrel and looked at her, red in the face from alcohol. Makarov hopped down from the bar and looked up at her.

"Please don't bow to me like that, Miss. Can I ask what I can do for you?" he said, very kindly. He didn't scare her like Jose had.

"I.. was wondering if I could join your prestigious guild," she started rambling. "I talked to Gray-sama, and he said he thought it would be okay, and believe me, I have the credentials to get in, because I used to be an S-Class in Phantom Lord, and also my grandmo-"

"Settle down, girl," he said, waving a shriveled hand. "Are you truly sorry for what you've done?" he asked. "Are you truly sorry with all your heart and soul?"

Her mouth opened and closed a few times, thinking of an elaborate response of how she intended to repent for her sins. But she figured he didn't want that, so she just said, "Yes, sir. I really, really am. Please forgive Juvia."

His eyes softened and he reached up for her hand. She grabbed it and he gave her a firm handshake. "You've got yourself a deal, then, young lady."

Her heart clenched. "Thank you so much, thank you." She looked down at him, remembering something. "It might perhaps be too early for Juvia to be asking for favors, but she has just one. You see, I have a friend..."

* * *

. . . . . . . .

"Gajeel-kun!"

She was there, waiting for him at the train station, waving a sunhat in her hands, smiling brightly. "Gajeel-kun, I'm over here!"

He stepped off the train with only a suitcase and a travel bag. He wasn't a pack rat. He was wearing a ratty gray t-shirt and jeans, and he looked very slovenly compared to pretty Juvia in her white sunhat and blue polka dot sundress.

He rushed towards her as much as he could, dropping his bags to grab her shoulders. "Juvia, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, totally fine!" she said. She grabbed his shoulders. "We're going to have so much fun in Fairy Tail!"


	4. A Festival Without Rain

A/N: Thanks again for your reviews and favorites! It means a lot.

* * *

"Where are you staying at?" Juvia asked. She had insisted on carrying Gajeel's traveling bag, and it was now being hefted over her shoulder.

"Until I find a place? Probably just some inn. There's a cheap one just on the outskirts of-"

"DON'T STAY IN THAT ONE!" Juvia yelled quickly. "Never again…"

Gajeel looked at her, alarmed. "Okay. I won't."

"Are you excited to be in Fairy Tail?" Juvia asked, pulling the bag over her shoulder again. It was quite heavy.

"No," he said grouchily. "I'm not. I'm just here for the work… And to make sure that you stay safe. No telling what the asses in this guild would do to you."

"Juvia doesn't think that the people in Fairy Tail are like-" She stopped, staring down at the ground. She blinked once, twice, then quirked an eyebrow, tilting her head.

Gajeel stopped and looked back at her, confused. "What?"

She shook her head. "Juvia just realized… Juvia has never seen her shadow before."

He watched as she dropped the bag and waved an arm, then the other, then both at the same time so she looked like some kind of dumb bird. She moved her legs, fascinated.

"Incredible."

"You're such a dork."

* * *

"What's he doing here?!" was the main reaction from many members of the guild.

Gajeel bared his fangs at them, and she rested her hands on his chest, trying to calm him. Her touch did little, but it was something.

"Got a problem, bastard?" Gajeel growled.

"Yeah I do!" a man shouted back. "You wrecked our guild hall, and-"

"P-please leave Gajeel-kun alone! He… he won't be bad anymore. We promise!" Juvia grabbed the front of his shirt, dragging him down with her as she bowed deeply. He begrudgingly bowed to the rest of the members, but he shot a snarl at Juvia, displeased.

"Where would you like your guild mark?" Mirajane asked, coming up with the stamp. "Anywhere you want, sir."

Gajeel straightened up, glaring at her. Mira didn't seem disturbed in the slightest. Juvia watched, her navy eyes flicking back and forth, concerned and scared. He looked like he might attack her. Then again, that was the look he always had on his face, the one like he was going to attack someone.

"Juvia, where's yours?" he asked, not taking his eyes off Mira, looking almost wary.

"O-oh. Juvia got hers on her thigh, right here." She patted the top of her leg nervously.

He looked down at her, baffled. "Much more provocative than the one ya used to have, right on your bicep." _Where mine was, _he almost said to her. "Why there?"

Blushing and smiling stupidly, she twiddled her fingers. "Juvia thought that someone special might… appreciate it?"

Gajeel rolled his eyes. "Riiiight. Welp, the thigh isn't a very manly place to get it, so just here, on my right bicep."

The whole guild seemed to hold their breath as Mira pressed the stamp on his bicep. Displeasure flooded the guild with such force, Juvia believed it could knock her right off her feet. Gajeel narrowed his eyes and picked up his suitcase, ready to head for the door. As the master approached, he paused, too respectful of his authority to walk away.

"Master," he grumbled.

"Good morning, sir!" Juvia chirped. "Juvia wants to thank you for letting her friend in. It means the world!"

Master Makarov smiled up at her. "Oh, my pleasure, young lady. I'm sure you two will have the time of your lives here."

For the umpteenth time that morning, Gajeel rolled his eyes, smirking. Juvia simply clapped her hands together, delighted. "Juvia hopes for that!"

"C'mere, shortie," Gajeel growled, tugging on her newly cut hair. "Nice cut, by the way. I need your help-oh."

"You!"

There were a couple of men standing in front of a short girl. Her hair was a bit lighter than Juvia's and she appeared paralyzed. The men appeared to share her fear, but their desire to protect overran their anxiety. One was tall and dark-skinned, his hair shaped like a plant shoot. The other wore a fur coat over a purple silk shirt, a fuzzy hat perched on his head. Juvia thought the girl exceptionally pretty with her short stature and innocent hazel eyes.

"Get out of our guild!" Fuzzy-Hat shouted. "Both of you!"

Juvia flinched back, then calmed her beating heart. It would just take a bit for people to get used to them, that was all.

"Hey!" Gajeel grabbed the front of his shirt. The accuser looked a bit terrified. "Say. Your. Sorry. To Juvia." When the man didn't say anything, Gajeel's scary look seemed to get ten times scarier. It startled even Juvia. "Did you hear me? I said. Say. Sorry."

Gajeel was the kind of person who, when he got really, really angry outside a fight, got his voice all scary serious and calm. The first time Juvia heard it, she had nearly cried. Toto had told her she'd get used to it, but Aria had wept and shook his head, telling her silently that no, it was always be truly terrifying.

The Wind Man had been horribly right.

When apologies had been exchanged, along with hate-filled looks, Gajeel left the guild hall, Juvia following close behind.

"Hey hey, why don't Juvia and Gajeel-kun go see what the best café in town is? Won't that be fun? We could make, like, a tradition to go there right after every job, and-"

"I need help finding an apartment," he said abruptly, bashfully scratching his cheek.

"Really?" Juvia put her hands on her hips, mock condescending. "The Great Kurogane really needs Juvia of the Deep's help?"

"Yes." His eyebrow(?) twitched agitatedly. "I've never gone apartment hunting before. Jose and Sol picked out my last apartment for me, so I 'wouldn't have to do any boring work,' but now I ain't thinkin' Master Makarov is going to help."

"Gajeel-kun is probably correct."

Thus started a great and epic adventure that lasted three days. This is how it normally went:

**Juvia**: Gajeel-kun, how 'bout this one?

**Gajeel**: Does it look like I care?

**Juvia**: You should.

**Landlord**: This room used to be a meth lab! Good times.

**Gajeel**: Meh.

**Juvia**: Okay, thank you for your time Gajeel-kun we're going. Right. Now.

Or

**Landlord**: It's a decently priced room at 50,000 jewel, don't you two agree?

**Juvia**: Yes, it's very nice!

**Landlord**: Are you two a couple?

**Gajeel**: No. I've decided that I don't like you. C'mon, we're going.

**Juvia**: ?!

Gajeel's personal favorite was

**Juvia**: Gajeel-kun, Juvia thinks that this is the room for you! Look, the blacksmith's shop is near here!

**Gajeel: **Old guy, how much?

**Landlord: **About 70,000 jewel a month.

**Juvia: **That's cheap compared to what I'm paying: 100,000 a month.

**Gajeel: **What makes you think you need a room that expensive- oh, wait, princess. Sorry, I forgot.

**Juvia: **That's not-

**Landlord: **Say, young lady, you're awfully pretty. You can stay here if you want.

**Juvia: **...

**Gajeel**: … Juvia, step behind me. Okay. Good (you're safe). Thank you, sir. We'll be leaving- RUN.

**Landlord**: The offer always stands!

And finally, they found an apartment with an okay landlord who didn't try to hit on Juvia. It was also very cheap. But…

Juvia covered her ears, shouting over the sound. "YOU WANT TO LIVE HERE? WHAT WOULD POSSESS YOU TO-"

Gajeel laughed. "GIHI. I LIKE IT, BABE. IT'S NIce and the train is gone now. We can stop shouting."

Yes, Gajeel had picked the loudest, noisiest apartment/home in the whole town. He'd picked the apartment above the train station, the one usually reserved for the conductor. However, the real estate woman had said, guiding them up the stairs, no one had wanted to live in it for nearly a decade, so it had gone on the market to the public. It was cheap, she explained, only 40,000 jewel because of the noise level and inconvenient location.

"Juvia thinks you're crazy," she said, pouting.

"Are _you_ crazy?" he asked. "It's right above the train station! Head down those stairs, I'm ready to go out on my job. No need to rush to the station, nope. Also, they might throw out pieces of metal, the mechanics. I can eat it!"

She glanced at him. "How about I just cook for you so you don't have to rummage around the dumpster like a raccoon?"

"Fair enough. Lady, I'll buy it!" he said victoriously, like he'd just won a battle.

The real estate woman seemed relieved to have it off her hands, gladly taking his money and leaving. Gajeel put down his suitcase next to the couch that the apartment came with and pulled a pillow and blanket out of his traveling bag, spreading them on the couch. He patted them down.

"I'm moved in."

"No, you need a bed, cooking supplies, a refrigerator, pictures, some scrap metal would look good in that corner…" Juvia framed the room in her fingers, tongue poking out of her mouth slightly. "Yes. Juvia can make that work. Scrap metal in the corner it is."

"I don't want to buy furniture," he whined. "I like this couch. It's decent. And, well… Okay, I'll buy a refrigerator, that's it."

"Bed. And a new couch and some chairs and a table and some pots and pans so I can come and cook."

They spent the rest of the day going around the town (more like Juvia dragged him around by the ponytail while he whined) and buying basic home necessities. He helped paint the walls a dark blue that he said, "looked like her eyes, so he guessed it was decent," and installed the refrigerator and checked the plumbing. Juvia had to admit, he was handy with that kind of stuff. She arranged all the food and cleaning supplies, hanging his new cooking utensils above the stove for her easy access.

"We're done!" Juvia squealed, throwing the paint brush down onto the tarp. She wiped her pale face onto her baggy shirt sleeve. "Gajeel-kun officially has a new home."

"I don't have a home," he snapped. "I'm here for work, not to have a home."

Juvia looked at him, blinking once. She smiled, wrapping her arms around him. "I'm your home, right? And you're mine. You and Gray-sama and Fairy Tail… All of you are my home."

He stiffened. "Fine, fine. You're my home." He tried to sound indifferent, but Juvia could tell he was slightly touched. "And when are you going to stop with all this 'Gray-sama' this, and 'Gray-sama' that?"

"NOT UNTIL HE MARRIES ME."

"DAMMIT WOMAN."

* * *

She should've expected that Gray and the others wouldn't be happy with Gajeel being there. Of course, they were warm to her, because she'd proven her worth and loyalty, but they didn't trust Gajeel. It hurt Juvia, because she saw those little wary looks that Erza gave, heard the cruel insults Natsu threw, saw the fear in Levy's innocent eyes.

People weren't supposed to look at Gajeel-kun like that. That wasn't right. He was a… somewhat good person. He was strong and willing to devote himself to Fairy Tail whenever he wanted.

"Are you okay?" she asked him one day, after throwing Gray's pants at him, blushing and shrieking "PUT THEM BACK ON, ON, ON!"

"Fine. It's not like I care what these people think. They all have a screw loose. Anyways, what's for dinner," he said indifferently.

"Gajeel-kun," she said, very firm and serious. He jumped and looked at her, pouty. "Juvia thinks that you should make more of an effort to be friends with everyone in Fairy Tail."

He actually looked thoughtful about this. "Yeah, friends. Okay, Juvia. I'll be friends."

The last thing she expected was for her introverted best friend to get up on that stage and start singing. She laughed at his cocky posture in the chair, at the horrible strumming of the guitar and terrible warble of his voice. But she still stood up, very excited, and shouted, "Show 'em what you can do, Gajeel-kun!"

Better to be supportive than hurtful, she thought, staring at Gray. Natsu, angry at Gajeel's music, flipped the table, knocking Lucy (LOVE RIVAL!) over. Gray ducked while Juvia started at him adoringly, turning her body into water so she splashed right over it.

It was the first fight of Fairy Tail she'd ever been in, the first guild fight. It was fun, she thought as she nearly drowned a man. Very fun.

* * *

"What happened to you?" Juvia yelped, running across the guild hall to the entrance. Hardly anyone took notice.

Gajeel had stumbled in, shaking and twitching spasmodically. "Stupid… lighting freak."

"Lightning freak?" she said, putting a hand over his shoulder, the other on his chest. "Laxus-san?"

Gajeel wheezed out a chuckle. "Sent me right home, the lady in the request did. Didn't want a beaten up punk to do her work."

Juvia patted his chest, turning him around, back outside. "C'mon, time to go home."

She laid him down on the couch, telling him to wait, she'd go get some medicine. He waited patiently, coughing every now and then, complaining about how he couldn't stop moving. Juvia replied calmly that it was because he'd been electrocuted and his nerves were a bit out of control.

She came back and placed a cold towel on his forehead. "What happened to Gajeel-kun?"

"Those dorks… the Shadow Gear punks-" He paused to cough. "-tried to 'teach me a lesson.' Ain't that funny? So, I let them beat me up, y'know? Get their anger out, make them accept me. That's what you told me to do. Make friends."

Her chest tightened uncomfortably and she continued patting down his fried hair.

"Then Laxus came along. Got mad because I made Fairy Tail a laughingstock. Can't blame the man. He tried to attack the short one… Levy?" He shrugged, then winced and looked pained. "I… tried to protect her and got a bit fried in the process.

"Well, that was very noble," Juvia said. "Now, here, read this, I'll make us some lunch. Maybe that'll make you feel better."

"How's Marina?" Gajeel asked, flipping through a book on blacksmithing. "Seen her since the attack on Fairy Tail?"

"Juvia would prefer if you did not speak of that incident," she chided, straining pasta. "And I wrote her one letter a few weeks ago. Juvia told her that she'd return to the Manor for a visit soon. But she just wanted to get settled into Fairy Tail first, so she guesses that saying 'soon' was a bit of a lie."

"Old lady's probably tearing out her hair, worried sick about you," Gajeel mumbled, tossing the book.

"Gran is only 56, she's not an old lady. And I've decided that I'm going to go home this weekend, after the Harvest Festival and Fantasia Parade."

Gajeel scoffed. "Why not just go now and skip out on that junk?"

Juvia puffed out her cheeks. "Juvia wants to see it."

What Juvia didn't want was to be turned into a statue on the day of the pageant she'd suddenly decided to compete in. She had changed back into her dress from her swimsuit and was talking with Levy, when she heard Bisca speak.

"Evergreen! You've been gone for a month, I missed you!"

"… I- Thanks."

"Are you going to participate in the pageant, too? You're so pretty, you'd probably-"

Bisca was cut short. Juvia turned, alarmed by the sudden stop. She squeaked and stepped back. Where Bisca had stood only a moment before was a stone statue of her. A pretty woman (Juvia thought she would be much prettier without all the makeup and if she let her hair down) was fiddling with a pair of wire-rimmed glasses in her hand.

The look in her eyes was anxious and afraid.

That was all Juvia really saw.

* * *

"GO LUCY!" Natsu cheered, waking up from a stupor briefly to cheer on his best friend. "YOU CAN BEAT THEM, I KNOW… you… oh, screw it, I'm tired."

"Flamehead idiot. Can't even stay awake to support Lucy," Gray chuckled, resting his chin in his hand, cocky smirk on.

"It's not manly," Elfman agreed.

"Now, now, I think this competition is over," a voice sang. Gray's head jerked away from Natsu and to the stage.

The first thing that came to mind was: _Why is she here?, _because he knew that voice somewhat. It belonged to one of Fairy Tail's elite, the only woman in the Raijinshuu. None of them liked to get caught up in guild antics, so why would she be participating in the pageant?

His question was answered when she drew back the curtains, dramatically flourishing an arm back at the girls, stone and looking shocked. His heart leapt when he saw Cana and Erza… and Juvia. Evergreen had changed all of them into statues, and was just lifting her lenses to deal with an annoyed Lucy.

Gray stood up, alarmed. "Lucy, don't look her in the eyes!"

But the advice came too late.

"Evergreen, this is nonsense!" the master scolded, sounding like an annoyed and irritated parent. "Turn them back at once before you ruin the festival."

Evergreen looked briefly scared, so brief that hardly anyone caught it, but she went back to smug in a instant. "On the contrary, Master, I think I'm making it better." She whipped her fan open, hiding her face behind it.

"C'mon, Old Man, it's a festival! We're just having a little bit of fun," Laxus sauntered up onto the stage, throwing his arm around Lucy. "Y'see, Gramps, we're having a different kind of festival. A festival to see who the strongest in Fairy Tail is! And it won't stop until I'm the master."

"Laxus!" Gray shouted, slamming a fist onto the table. This wasn't right. He couldn't do this to Lucy and Erza and Juvia! He couldn't do it to any of them! "Turn them back, Evergreen…"

Nobody heard him, too focused on Evergreen and Laxus on the stage.

"It'll be easy, though!" Bickslow said, swinging himself onto the stage from a wooden ceiling beam. Freed joined him, hopping up next to Evergreen.

"That's right," Laxus agreed, nodding. He left Lucy alone, sauntering around the stage. "You just have to beat my Raijinshuu. If-"

Evergreen shut her fan, putting a hand on her hip. The other gestured to her hostages. "If you can beat the three of us, then I'll turn the girls back. If you can't beat us within three hours, however, the girls turn to dust."

Elfman flinched next to him. Gray understood; his big sister was up there, and a very strong, very cruel woman was threatening to kill her without the slightest bit of hesitation. Natsu was still dozing, but stirring a bit. Gray kicked him under the table.

"Again, easy!" Bickslow said. "'Cause there's three of us, and, like, a hundred of you guys!"

Natsu suddenly jerked and bolted up, spitting fire. "ALL RIGHT, A FIGHTING FESTIVAL!"

"See, he's into it. So-" Laxus spread out his arms, a maniacal smile on his face. It stretched his scar. "LET THE FESTIVAL BEGIN!"

With a crack of lightning, the four were gone. Everyone stood in stunned silence, watching the petrified girls on the stage.

Elfman pounded a hand on the table, standing up, completely enraged. "C'mon, guys, we gotta save the girls!"

Everyone charged out, yelling angrily. Gray watched Alzack speak to a frozen Bisca before running out. Sighing, he ran out the door too. He'd aim to beat Ever; if he could do that, he could save Juvia and everyone else. Why was he thinking about Juvia in particular? … Well, he owed her one for that time in the casino.

* * *

She caught snippets of the conversation, barely registered it when Erza became warm again next to her. Her mind was sleepy, yawning, dazed… What was going on? Laxus-san was throwing a festival, she thought, that was what he said only a few minutes-hours-Seconds?-earlier.

Juvia waited, sleepy and comfortable.

And then, an indeterminable amount of time later (it was hard to tell time when you were a statue), her hand twitched. Warmth flooded her veins, like her blood was suddenly becoming warm again. Her bones cracked and she stumbled back, the feeling of being flesh again shocking her.

The girls around her were bumping into her randomly, mumbling and clutching their heads woozy and still sleepy. Juvia steadied Levy instinctively, then gripped Mirajane's shoulder.

"Is everyone okay?" Cana mumbled. There were grumbles and sarcastic laughs. "Okay. Everyone sounds like themselves. Okay, cool."

"Is everyone alright?" Master Makarov came running up, Gajeel and Natsu in tow.

"I believe so," Mirajane mumbled, stretching.

Juvia let the other girls off the stage first, and while everyone was preoccupied, Gajeel picked her up from under her arms and swept her down onto ground level, muttering, "How was statue time?"

"Fun. A little cold, a little sleepy, but fun." They watched Natsu chase Lucy around while everyone laughed, forgetting the intensity of the moment. She cast a look at Gajeel. "Why the face?"

"There's no face," he mumbled, pouting.

Juvia smiled, watching everyone. "This guild sure is a lot of fun."

"They've got a screw loose or somethin'."

* * *

"You okay?" was what Gray asked when Elfman carried her into the guild. Juvia winced and scrubbed at her eyes, mumbling. He rushed across the guild hall, holding her shoulder when Elfman set her down gently. "What happened?"

Juvia blinked, trying to focus on him. Her heart leapt and did a little dance at the feel of his skin. "Oh, me? HA HA I'M FINE," she said, louder than necessary. She wobbled and felt like throwing up. She didn't like getting electrocuted, she'd found.

Gray rolled his eyes. "Okay, then. Here, why don't you come sit down? We'll get some food into you, make you feel better, okay?"

"Y-yes, certainly! That sounds very nice…" Gray led her to a bench where his team, minus Natsu, who was being bandaged next to Gajeel, and sat her down. Lucy put a bowl of soup down in front of her.

"You look like you've had fun at the festival," Lucy said, smiling. She herself also looked bashed and beaten. Some ends of her hair were fried and browned from electrocution.

"Yes, Juvia guesses you could say that." She laughed. "Is Erza-san really okay enough to be giving orders like that?"

Erza was chasing Nab and Max down, shouting for them to get ready for the parade. It reminded Juvia to ask, "Is the festival still going on? The parade?"

"Yeah," said Gray. "It's the best, you'll see." He sounded excited for once, and it made her happy.

"I really can't wait to watch it!" Juvia said eagerly.

Gray quirked an eyebrow. "You're in it, y'know."

"J-Juvia?" she stuttered, feeling dizzy again. "I'm just so new, I thought…" She traced little marks into the table.

Cana giggled nearby. "Ain't she the cutest?"

* * *

"GRAY-SAMA WANTS JUVIA TO BE HIS PARTNER?"

Gajeel watched from the side, amused at the sight. Gray was looking as grumpy as usual and Juvia was leaning back, away from him, shocked at his offer to be on his float.

"Yeah, I think if we worked together, the float could be a lot cooler. I really want to, uh-" He coughed, embarrassed. "I really want to make all those people happy. Especially the kids."

_HE LIKES KIDS!_

"I mean, this was my favorite part of the year when I was a kid, so, well, y'know." He looked away, blushing.

Gajeel laughed nearby. "Juvia, do it! Do it for the kids!"

So Juvia did it for the kids (and Gray-sama), listening very intently to his instructions as to what was to be done. Gajeel and Gray both seemed amused at her seriousness, her eagerness to please, and when Gray asked if that was normal for her, Gajeel replied, "No, not usually. You just bring that out in her."

"Hey, take that off," he said later.

Juvia dropped a paintbrush, red quickly sprinting onto her face. Take. _It. __**OFF. **_A squeak escaped her, wild and inappropriate fantasies flooding her mind. Gajeel dropped his crutch, cracking his knuckles and growling, animalistic. "You did not just tell her to do that in front of me," he snarled.

Gray suddenly realized the undertone of what he'd said and blushed, stammering. "No, I didn't mean- PUT THIS ON!" He threw a tangle of blue at her and ran away. It was a nice, pretty dress that she held against her, observing it.

"Oh. I thought I was going to get to beat him up," Gajeel said, a bit disappointed.

* * *

"I'm home," she muttered to herself, opening the large iron gates. Two days after the festival, she had boarded a train bound for Azalea, and now she was in front of the Lockser Manor gates.

Excitement welling up in her, she started walking across the fields. There was no more rain. How would everyone react? She was excited to find out.

The passing of the servants quarters signified the halfway mark. Juvia picked up her pace, butterflies beating their wings against her stomach. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so excited, not even when she'd entered Fairy Tail.

The mansion came into view. Workers turned from their work, curious as to who the intruder was, and their jaws dropped. There was the lady Juvia, walking freely without the rain caging her. Some waved and smiled, others simply remained quiet and stunned. She waved back.

By the time she got to the front gardens, people were rushing out to greet her, weeping exaggeratedly and hugging her, welcoming their mistress home.

"Oh, stop, Moxie. Please, you get headaches when you cry," Juvia pleaded, rubbing the woman's head.

"Where's my granddaughter?" came a shrill voice.

Juvia's head snapped up and Moxie retreated, weepy still. Marina was standing on the top step, breathing deeply from having run from her office. A servant had rushed up to her room, stammering about Juvia coming home.

The rain hadn't come with her.

They embraced, Marina crying heavily.


	5. The Twisted Game

AN: Ah, I'm so excited for Juvia to meet Pantherlily in this chapter! And in this chapter, I'm also going to try and speed through the rest of the canon plot (I'll try not to make it too long!), so that we can get to the more original plot I have in mind. There's some foreshadowing to it that I hope you can all catch.

Also, thank you for pointing out my errors in the last chapter! Please understand, though, that I was rushing through it fast, since I wanted to get it up before I left for the day, and so I was silly and didn't pay much attention to my formatting or grammar. I went back and fixed all the major issues, though, so hopefully it's more readable.

Also, to LyonandJuviaForever (I love Lyvia, btw), Fairy Tail doesn't really know about Juvia's status as nobility. Gajeel and Makarov know, however. She tends to keep it on the down-low, since it's incredibly intimidating. Also, the Lockser's have a tricky history, as we'll discover later, so it's best to keep quiet around mages and such, especially if they're shifty.

* * *

Marina's long, pale hands couldn't seem to stop touching Juvia. They were cupping her face, massaging her scalp, booping her nose, hugging her.

She couldn't seem to stop crying, either.

Juvia herself began to cry, burying herself into her grandmother's chest. The servants, the meadows, the gardens, the big house began to fade, leaving only Juvia and her warm, warm grandmother, with her scent of salt and ink, with her soft hands buried in her hair, with the silk of her dress brushing against Juvia's legs.

She was so happy.

Marina pulled back, removing a hand from Juvia to wipe a tear away from her eye. "Oh, I wasn't ready for this. I'm a mess, look at me!" She forced a laugh and fanned herself with a hand. Letting go of Juvia fully, she studied her. "There's a bit of color in your face! Look at that. Oh, dew drop, what in the world happened?"

"Well, where do I start?" Juvia laughed, then dissolved into tears again. Her grandmother looked wonderful under the sunlight. "Can we go inside? I'm really tired from the walk."

"Oh, yes. Alright, everyone, back to work, if you please!" Marina clapped her hands softly, then turned on her heel and led Juvia and a few select workers into the mansion. "I'm in for a treat, I'm sure. I expect this story to be nothing less than amazing."

"It is amazing," Juvia said, nodding her head and clasping her hands. "So amazing."

"Well, I can't wait to hear it." Marina sat down in a chair in the same room that Juvia had brought Gajeel to upon his first visit. "I want to know exactly what made the rain go away."

Juvia waited until the last servant left, waving a farewell to them, then picked up a piece of toast. "I fell in love."

Marina nearly spilled her tea. She stared at her granddaughter, eyes as wide as her tea saucer. "What?" When Juvia repeated it, she began laughing. "Oh. Oh, gracious, I thought that you went on some long journey for some old spell that took it away, but this… This is better!" Marina wiped her eyes free of tears, then put her elbows on her knees. "What's his name?"

"Gray. Gray Fulbuster." Juvia blushed and put her hands against her cheeks, blushing vividly. "Gray-sama is so amazing! We fought back when Phantom was attacking Fairy Tail, and he just stopped the rain!"

"… With a spell?"

"With love, Gran." Juvia hugged herself, squeaking. "Ah! He took the rain away with the power of love."

Gran chuckled into her hand. "Okay, you're very excited. I think I've read about Gray Fullbuster in Sorcerer Weekly. He's an Ice Make mage, isn't he?"

Juvia nodded. "Oh, yes. His magic is beautiful!" She sighed into her hands. "Just like him."

"Yes, you are veeerrryy excited." Juvia's grandmother took a bite of toast, loaded with clotted cream. "What else is new, besides the haircut?"

"I joined Fairy Tail, actually. Me and Gajeel-kun."

Juvia described the guild in detail, about all the events that had happened since her encounter with them. She explained about Erza and the Tower of Heaven, about entering the guild hall alone, about pleading for Gajeel to enter. She told Gran about the Fighting Festival, how Gray had invited her to be on his float with him.

Marina looked troubled. "G-go back to the part about the Tower of Heaven and your friend, Ella?"

"Erza. Erza Scarlet." Juvia tilted her head. "What do you mean 'go back?'"

She waved a hand, irritated. "The part that she told you about, the lacrima and how it almost absorbed her. What did the Tower of Heaven look like?"

Juvia thought. "Well, it looked like a huge tower of crystal. It was actually very pretty. And Erza-san said that the lacrima that Jellal was going to sacrifice her to absorbed her into it." Juvia shuddered. "Creepy."

Marina folded her hands into each other. "Oh. Oh, I see. My little dew drop, I-"

"What is it, Gran?"

"That just sounds painfully similar to… To a ritual that has been attempted on us many times." Marina didn't have to elaborate. Juvia knew exactly who "us" was: The Lockser Clan. "It's never been completed before… If there's a ritual so similar to it that could have worked…"

Uneasy, Juvia smiled. "J-Juvia is sure it's nothing, Gran! After all, no one's tried anything like that on us in generations, right?"

"I suppose you are, yes." Marina watched Juvia worriedly. "But please be careful, my love. Please."

* * *

"How was your visit?" Gajeel asked when she got back. "You were gone for a bit."

"Pretty good. Gran wouldn't stop crying her eyes out, though."

"Gihi! Can't blame 'er. The fact that your rain went away is some miracle, wouldn't you agree?"

Juvia smiled up at the Dragon Slayer. "Yes, it is." She tapped her lips, contemplating telling him something. They grabbed their drinks at the bar and headed up to the more private second floor. "She got kind of uptight about something, though."

"Marina Lockser? Uptight over something other than work? I can't believe it." Gajeel stirred around a glass of heavily diluted vodka, his version of a perfect midday drink. "Well? What was it?"

"Have I ever told you the exact nature of how the Lockser's obtained their Water Magic?" Juvia asked, stirring a raspberry lemonade Mira had given her.

"Probably mentioned it briefly. Can't remember, though," Gajeel said, crunching on the screw that had been at the bottom of his glass.

"Well, a long time ago, four hundred years, to be near exact-"

They were interrupted by a commotion near the front of the guild. Juvia and Gajeel peered over the edge of the railing. Gray and his team were entering, coming back from the job against Oracion Seis, Gajeel said. Juvia remembered that they had left for it right before she left for her grandmother's. A young girl followed them.

"She's cute," Juvia said, taking a sip of her lemonade.

Her name was Wendy, she said, and she was the Sky Dragon Slayer. Juvia slowly spit her drink back into the cup, turning around again to look over the railing.

"What?"

But Gajeel wasn't listening to her. Instead, he was looking down on the main floor, incredibly enraptured with something. A sweat was breaking out on his face. "W-why don't I have one?"

"Have what, Gajeel-kun?" Juvia asked, deeply confused.

"I don't have a cat."

Juvia spit out her drink again, this time more spit take-like rather than spitting it out into her glass. She laughed behind her hand at his genuinely troubled expression. "You don't have a cat? You're jealous because Natsu-san and Wendy have cats and you don't?"

"Juvia!" he snapped, looking at her. "This is a serious dilemma! I need to go get a cat right now." He slammed his fist against the wood and started running down the stairs. "I'll look on every street for the perfect cat for me!"

"Gajeel-kun, we can just… go… to the… animal shelter. Okay, ignore Juvia, that's cool."

* * *

"Let Juvia get this straight; Pantherlily came from an alternate dimension where Gray-sama was madly in love with Juvia, and he was head of a military unit."

Juvia tugged at Panterlily's cheeks, a smile wobbling its way onto her face. "You-you're kidding, right? You're so small!"

Pantherlily seemed endlessly patient as he let her prod at him. "Earthland does not fit well with my natural constitution, I suppose. I assure you, Miss…"

"Juvia."

"Miss Juvia, that my natural form is much larger."

"Isn't he quite the find, Juvia?" Gajeel picked up Lily and shook him joyfully. Lily did not look appreciative. "Strong and cool and collected! Just like me!"

There were tears in Gajeel's eyes. Juvia sighed, putting her cheek in her hand, twirling a finger in her newly curled hair. "Yes. Just like you. Pantherlily, do you like to cuddle?"

"…What?"

"Never mind." The three looked over to the guild, celebrating and laughing with each other. Juvia watched the girl with the white hair and blue eyes as she clung to her older siblings, laughing and drinking with everyone. "I never knew that Elfman-san and Mira-san had a little sister."

"Oh? You didn't?"

Juvia and Gajeel turned around to see a brunette stepping over a fallen stool to get to them. Gajeel, trusting his instincts as always, lightly held an arm out in front of Juvia for obvious reasons. Both were still quite wary of this woman.

"Evergreen-san," Juvia said, looking at the Raijinshuu member. She'd never exactly talked to Evergreen before, save for the time when she'd personally apologized to her for the incidents of Fantasia. "Did you know."

"Oh, yeah. I'm almost something like a veteran in the guild." Evergreen sat down next to them, stretching her legs out. "Lisanna Strauss. 'Killed' almost three years ago by Elfman." She ignored Gajeel's startled look and Juvia's gasp. Evergreen smiled sadly and swished the amber alcohol in her glass around. "It was an S-Class request that Mira took her siblings on. I heard that he went berserk after trying to Take Over some monster, and he sent Lisanna flying.

"I was here when they came back to the guild. I've never seen such broken people." Evergreen paused to take a drink. "Mira said that Lisanna had simply disappeared into thin air, there wasn't even a body to bring back. I guess we know why, now: She was transported to Edolas somehow. Honestly, I don't care how or why; I'm just glad she's back. I mean, look how grateful everyone is."

Juvia had never seen Evergreen genuinely smile before. She quite like it, how relaxed it made the older woman look.

"Really?" Gajeel said, rubbing Lily's head. "Can't imagine it… I mean, the self-loathing it must have put that big guy through."

Evergreen finished her drink. "Oh, I guess it did put him through quite some trouble. I mean, Mira experienced complete magic stasis, and Elfman's magic was cut down by, like, half. Probably even more, actually." She smiled sadly into the empty glass. "Those poor people. They were so young…"

* * *

"KEEP WORKING, YA SCRAWNY TWIGS!" Gajeel roared at them.

"Gajeel, maybe you want to go easy?" Levy asked.

Juvia and Lisanna continued to run, run in snow up to their calves, panting and sweating. Juvia's navy eyes shot over to their location, hoping with all her heart and soul that Gajeel would listen to Levy.

He didn't.

"I ain't goin' easy on those pansies! They need all the help they can get!" Gajeel snapped, then went back to shouting. "JUVIA YOU'RE GRANDMA COULD RUN FASTER THAN YOU!"

"GRAN IS IN PERFECT SHAPE I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED."

"Keep going, Miss Juvia, Miss Lisanna," Pantherlily encouraged, flying ahead of them.

Juvia gasped for breath, looking up at Lily. "If I finish this lap, can I cuddle you?"

Lily flinched. "I-if that's really what you want, if you finish this lap, you may have one hug. One hug, Miss."

"Aww yeah!"

"Juvia, stop, I can't go that fast! Dammit, being an illegal mage and rarely getting to work has really left me out of shape."

* * *

"Shameful. Both of you, shameful," Erza said, clicking her tongue and scooping them both up by their collars. "No, neither of you are S-Class material."

Juvia sighed. "We ran all those laps for nothing?"

Lisanna squirmed as Erza carried them out like kittens. "I want to punch something."

Juvia laughed a little. "Don't hit Erza-san, we learned that lesson today, didn't we?"

"Yes'm, we did."

It was probably from their extreme tiredness, but the two laughed and laughed, while Erza looked at them curiously, wondering what was so funny, and why shouldn't they hit her, besides the fact that it was incredibly rude to do so.

They finally convinced Erza to set them down as they neared the camp. Mirajane was already waiting there, something simmering on the makeshift stove while she put on bandages. The beauty looked up, her smile stretching across her face. "Oh, hello, dears. How are you?"

"What happened to you?" Erza asked. She requipped out of her armor and slid on an apron, stirring around the aromatic soup in the pot.

Mira giggled and put a hand to her face, embarrassed. "Oh, I got beat up by Elfman and Evergreen."

Lisanna looked startled. She and Juvia sat down. "No. Really? I can't believe it!"

"Well, I don't think they could have won, quite honestly, but Evergreen distracted me." Mira smiled and rubbed her cheek. "She told me that they were going to get married!"

Erza looked up, quite startled. "M-married? Those two? Since when?" She began jabbering on without anyone answering her question. "I never knew… When's the wedding? D-do I have to get a gift? I don't know how these things go, you know."

"No, no, Erza. Calm down."

Juvia and Lisanna giggled and smiled at each other, their defeat forgotten, while Mira started rambling on about their future children. Lisanna smiled and put her chin in her hands, looking up at the treetops. "Elf-nii-chan and Evergreen. They're kind of birds of a feather, come to think of it."

Juvia stared down at her pale hands, blushing and steam pouring from her ears. "Ch-children."

Juvia wanted kids. She'd admit that in a heartbeat. Since she was a child herself, she'd wondered about how nice it would be to share a bed with a spouse, a home with a little kid, someone she'd given life to. With Gray in the picture, she felt quite close to that dream. She thought about it some more.

Her heart sank. She remembered.

She couldn't have kids.

* * *

Juvia coughed out a wad of blood, looking quite disgusted at he wad of congealed red that had come out of her lungs. Her dress was torn, her hat was gone, as was her pride as a Lockser. Water Body had failed her against this young mage, this little girl with the incredibly advanced magic.

"Why are you leaving her there to suffer?" she heard Erza shout.

"She's number thirteen."

"Excuse me?"

The young girl began listing off the most important people to kill. Juvia stiffened and swallowed uncomfortably, taking down the taste of iron in her mouth. When was the last time she'd bled? Quite a while ago, she was certain. Not since her early days in Phantom Lord, when she was still a newbie at using the spell.

"Gray Fullbuster-" Juvia's head lifted a bit- "is number one. He hurt her." The girls voice rose in pitch and intensity. "He hurt my Ultear!"

_Rage_.

That was the one thing Juvia could really explain to Gajeel-kun and Pantherlily later.

Rage had poured through her veins, down her spine, into her nerves, seeping into the very marrow of her bones.

Juvia Lockser felt enraged.

Shakily, she stood up, haltingly, lurching. "Who did you say you were going to kill? Who did you say you'll never forgive?"

"J-Juvia, calm down!" Erza sounded scared.

She should be.

"Because, you know, those are my lines!" Crouching low, she got into a stance, preparing for a spell. "Water Nebula!"

The girl shrieked as the pillars of water collided into her stomach.

Juvia turned back to shout to Erza. "Go! I will handle this, so you may leave!"

Erza gave a simple nod of understanding, shaking a bit still, then turned and fled. The girl stood up shakily, her pink hair falling into her face. They stared each other down, filled with loathing and adrenaline, the rain falling down onto them.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" the girl said. "That one of us can fell intense hatred for this man, and the other love."

Juvia narrowed her eyes, then began to recite something she'd learned for herself over the years. "Our differing emotions is what defines us as human." Juvia positioned her arms in the same, fluid motion that Marina had taught her. "I will eliminate you."

"Is that so?" Meredy held out her hand to her, eyes filled with malice. That was too much hatred and rage for such a young girl to have. "Think of him, Juvia. Think of the man you love."

And the thoughts fill her mind.

The man who grabbed her hand, told her he wouldn't let her fall, the man who accepted her into the guild, the man who let her be in the parade with him.

The man who took the rain away.

The love of her life.

_Gray._

Her wrist burned, like it did whenever she accidentally pressed her sewing iron against it while working, and she shrieked, but it died soon. It felt like her back was against something rough and hard, and she shifted her shoulder blades, getting a feel.

"Now you and Gray are one."

"Eh?" Juvia looked up, blinking rapidly. "G-Gray-sama a-and Juvia? One?"

"Yes. Now you two will feel the same things. You are on- What are you doing?"

Happily, Juvia put her face in her hands and shook her head a little. "One. We are one. It has a really nice ring to i-"

Blades cut through her shoulder again, sending a fierce amount of pain through her. Juvia grit her teeth.

"Now whatever happens to you will happen to hi-"

"You're trying to hurt Gray-sama!" A pillar of water collided into the young girl's stomach, sending her spinning into a nearby rock face. "Unacceptable!"

The girl mumbled something to herself, placing her fingers on her own wrist. The same iron-hot pain came again and Juvia flinched briefly, but was on to much of a rampage to stop. Her next attack hit her again-

Juvia screamed.

"Now all three of us are connected." The girl-Meredy, Juvia somehow knew- stood up. "No matter what happens, all of us will die!"

Juvia's eyes widened. A spiral of glowing swords hovered around Meredy. Thoughts filled her mind, intense and painful.

_I want to die I will die we'll all die die die die DIE_

"Not if I can help it!"

Her leg shattered and she screeched under her breath, then sucked in a gulp of air. Meredy screamed and clutched her own leg, panting.

"I may feel the pain, but it won't share injuries!"

"Juvia will take you down!"

_Screaming. Fire, fire, fire, smoke. Where was her family? Her friends, they'd been right behind her. Where was everyone? Where was her home? Screaming, more screaming, everything was screaming and a beautiful and warm woman with onyx black hair…_

Juvia embraced the girl, sobbing. Meredy stilled, stiff and unmoving under Juvia's grip.

"Don't die," she said. Juvia pulled back, still clutching the girl's shoulders. "Don't die! Juvia lives for the ones she loves, and so should you." Gran, Gajeel, Gray, Fairy Tail. "If you have love in your life, KEEP LIVING!"

Meredy began to cry and the swords fell out of the air, disappearing before they touched the water below. She sobbed and pressed herself against Juvia.

"I can't fight you."

"That's good." Meredy fell out of her grip. She felt weary herself. "I can't fight you anymore, either."

* * *

"Wh-what the hell is that?" Lisanna took a step back, right into her sister's arms.

"Dragon!" Bickslow yelled, as though it weren't obvious.

Juvia blinked her eyes open, finding herself on Gray's back somehow. "Gr-Gray-sama…"

He didn't answer, staring up at the sky with a frozen face and steel-y eyes. He looked scared.

That was the first time Juvia realized that he had feelings like fear and anger, just like anyone else.

She wrapped her arms tighter around his neck as he ran, holding back her own sobs as she felt his while they ran from the master. Juvia brushed her fingers along his wrist as he put her down gently, telling her to wait there while he went to help.

Gray kept her steady as they all held hands. His fingers tightened more and more around hers, letting her know that yes, he was definitely afraid. They all were. They were certainly afraid when the whole world shook, when everything went blindingly bright, when they woke up what only seemed like hours later.

"Juvia!"

Her name. That was the first thing she heard after seven years, her name. Her lips opened barely. Her mouth was very dry and her head was foggy. "Gajeel-kun?" Was it him? Everything was fuzzy…

"Juvia, I'm here!" Someone bent next to her, pulling her into a position where her head lolled against their chest. She felt the creases of the scars, the rough cloth, and knew who it was.

"Gajeel-kun?" She opened her eyes, immediately finding his face, wearing a look of mild and barely recognizable concern. Her heart suddenly dropped along with her stomach. "We're alive?!"

* * *

"Seven years." Juvia leaned against the railing of the tiny, itty-bitty guild hall's bar, breathing heavily. "I still can't believe it. Seven whole years."

Gajeel spat out a scrap of metal from between his teeth. "Yeah, it's pretty screwed up."

"Th-that's all you can say? I guess it's easy." Juvia straightened up, shifting her stiff leg. "You don't have any family outside the guild. Everyone you love was with you on that day."

"Your grandma-"

"She thinks I'm dead."

The three- the two and Pantherlily- surveyed the bustling guild hall. It was so small, with only a few members left when they showed up. But everyone was still partying, drinking, having fun, making up for those seven years of lost time. Juvia watched, heart thumping out of her chest, almost.

Seven years.

_Gran._

"I'm taking the next train to Azalea." Juvia clenched her fists against her thighs. "I absolutely have to get to her."

"Oi, oi, Via, you don't have any money," Gajeel spit another scrap out, scowling into the bag. "Ain't a good batch, this one… How do you expect to get three hundred miles across Fiore with no money?"

Juvia shot a nervous smile to him. "Juvia is a Lockser. She doesn't like exerting her authority, but she will to get to her Gran."

* * *

"I-is this comfortable enough, my lady?" an attendant asked.

Juvia put her small bag down, tucked her dress under her, and sat. "Yes, yes, thank you. You really didn't have to put Juvia in first class, though."

The lady, blonde and pale, shook her head profusely. "Oh, leaving nobility in anything but? Perish the thought. Now, please go to sleep or something. We'll bring dinner soon, and someone will be along to tell you when we reach Azalea."

"Thank you. Juvia quite appreciates it."

Juvia smiled one more time, then the car door was slid shut, locking her in alone. Juvia sighed and sat back, fanning herself. Walking into the station, showing them her ID and special pass had been stressful. There had been banter, that though the personal insignia of the Lockser Family- something like a dragon, thin and majestic as it spread its wings- looked very official, Lady Juvia Lockser had died seven years ago.

She'd almost been arrested, but people began talking, reminding the authorities that those who had been thought dead all that time ago had suddenly come back from the dead. Some more superstitious ones began to mutter to each other, whispering about how it must have been the power of her clan, her bloodline, that saved them all.

Maybe she kept them under the ocean all that time.

Perhaps she'd put them all to sleep.

Who knew?

The rain woman smiled and stretched her legs, adjusting her blazer. She wondered how her grandmother was doing, along with all the servants. The way they'd reacted at the station told her that the family was still strong and influential, nothing like Lucy's that had broken down.

At least Jude Heartfilia wouldn't be after their train tracks anymore.

* * *

_Scritch scritch scritch_

The feathered quill made that sound again and again as it glided over the papers, the documents, the letters, the business proposals. Marina sighed and put her cheek in her hand, then went for a ham sandwich by her elbow.

Every day was dull. Every day was pen on paper, sandwich, typical training exercises. There were no cute letters from Juvia. The sixty-one year old felt tired every day.

She felt pain every day.

She wanted the cute little girl back, the cute little princess with the blue hair and the dark eyes, the one that had been so happy after her rain went away, the one that looked so pretty in the the sunlight.

So, so pretty.

Marina hadn't believed it when the army came and told her. Juvia was gone, disappeared, likely dead. The island she'd been taking her exams on had disappeared after being visited by a dragon.

A _dragon._

The water mage gripped the quill, inhaling deeply. The Dragon of the Apocalypse, the only thing worse than-

"Lady Marina!"

Moxie burst into the room, her black dress gathered in her hands. Marina stood instantly, setting down the quill into the ink bottle.

"Goodness, Caroline, what is it?"

"M-my lady, please, you must see this!"

"What, Caroline? Goodness, my girl, what-"

"It's a blessing."

* * *

It all looked the same. Except for that extra servant's quarters, that extra peach orchard. Juvia almost dragged her feet along. This didn't feel the same as it had only a few short months- no, seven long years- ago, the excitement and all. Instead Juvia felt anxious, and she didn't know why.

But she walked straight into the main courtyard, directly in front of the mansion, as big and beautiful and well-kept as usual. The water mage took a deep breath, her gaze landing on a woman sweeping the courtyard. The dark red hair was achingly familiar. Juvia took a deep breath.

"Moxie!"

The woman spun around almost instantly. Her face was as round and red as Juvia remembered, and her heart ached. It had only seemed like a couple of months to Juvia, and she missed the maid so badly. She couldn't imagine how it felt to the woman, who had missed her mistress for seven years.

Her thick jaw dropped, hanging uselessly. Juvia almost laughed, but she realized how impossible the situation must seem, so she didn't dare. The broom fell, hitting the stone. Both stared, and Moxie's jaw began to tremble more and more, tears spilling down her face.

"My word, it's a ghost."

"No, no, Moxie, it's Juvia. It really is, she swears it." Juvia dropped her bag and closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around the sweet woman's neck. "Normally she wouldn't say, 'It's been a long time,' but it has, hasn't it?"

Moxie began to howl and weep, clutching onto Juvia. "Young Mistress, Young Mistress, oh, my child."

At that, more people began to flood the clearing. Many looked familiar, but a good deal were new based on their whisperings of, "Is that her? It can't be. Lady Marina said her granddaughter disappeared long ago." The servants who obviously knew her well abandoned her things and gathered around her, hesitant but eager to touch her, to make sure she was real.

Over the clamor, in which Juvia hugged and cried into many people's shoulders, someone was shouting, "It's her, it's really her, go get the Mistress!"

"How, how, how?" Moxie kept crying.

Juvia started crying harder out of sympathy for them and their fear, their joy. "I don't know, I really don't. Well, I do, it's so hard to explain, though."

* * *

Marina practically leapt down the stairs, racing for the door.

It was impossible.

It had to be.

Nothing like this could happen.

She flung open the door.

* * *

"Where-" A voice gasped.

Juvia looked up, heart soaring like it did whenever she saw Gray. A woman, looking only slightly older than she had seven years ago, stood dumbly on the porch, clutching the door.

"Gran?" she said, pulling away from a weepy Moxie. "Gran."

All the clamor went silent as everyone looked at them, looked at the two only Lockser's left in the world, the grandmother and granddaughter, kept apart for so long by some cruel twist of fate. The lady of the house was shaking now, but no tears dripped from her eyes. Juvia was still and stared at her, waiting for someone to move.

"I'm home. Sorry I haven't written. Juvia is a really bad granddaughter." Juvia started to hiccup and buried her face in her sleeve. "Isn't she?"

"Juvia." The word, the name, wasn't loud, wasn't weepy or crying by any means, though Marina was now crying silently. It was breathy and grateful, quiet and firm. With the grace she was always known for, the woman ran down the stairs and hugged her sobbing family, her only treasure. "My dew drop, my Juvia."

"I'm home," Juvia sobbed again. "I'm home, I'm home, are you okay?"

"It's all fine, my little girl. It's all fine." Gran buried her face into Juvia's tight curls, breathing in the scent of rain and grass. "I think it's all fine, I'm okay."

* * *

"Gajeel-kun, isn't this so exciting?" Juvia poked her tongue out of her mouth as she put down another card. "We're on a team together!"

Gajeel put down another card, doing his best to beat her, but damn, the girl was good. "Eh. I just want Bunny Girl to be my backup dancer."

"I just want to go on a date with Gray-sama!"

"I just want to be with my team back at our inn." Laxus leaned back, scowling at the ceiling. "The hell happens at midnight?"

"That's not a good attitude, Laxus-san," Juvia scolded. She turned to the other blue-haired person in the room. "Jellal-san, how are you adjusting?"

The fugitive stiffened, then pulled his mask tighter around his neck. "F-fine, thank you, Juvia-san."

"I must say, we were all surprised when we found out that you would be participating." Mira combed her damp hair, smiling.

"It's against the rules," Laxus said stiffly.

"Oh, that doesn't matter!"

"Yes it does!"

"Oh, look." Juvia pointed to the clock. "It's midnight. I wonder- AAH!"

Gajeel caught her as she fell forward, then fell back himself. They slid across the floor ungracefully as the building tilted and shook. Of course, the three others were the perfect images of calm and collected, standing upright as the building moved. Juvia and Gajeel stopped as they hit the the railing outside and watched the giant pumpkin-head curiously.

"The hell?" was all Gajeel said.

"I don't even know," said Juvia, untangling herself from her best friend. "But it was kinda fun."

"You have a twisted sense of fun."

Mira, Laxus, and Jellal leapt onto the path above them while they were struggling up. Gajeel swore at them, calling them showoffs and much worse, while Juvia tried to stagger onto the path. Gajeel grabbed the soles of her feet and flipped her on, then yanked her into his arms as he got on, running with her slung over his shoulder.

"I was on the ground two seconds ago, what happened?"

* * *

"Don't feel bad, Juvia!" Laki tried to encourage. "I-it was hard, and that Raven guy was strong."

Juvia still looked down at her hands, highly ashamed. "Juvia did so bad…"

Laki smiled ruefully while Gajeel patted the grieving rain woman's head. "Ya did enough pouting when you hid in that closet for the whole day!"

Pantherlily patted her arm. "Please, Miss Juvia, don't worry. You'll have another chance, I'm positive. You'll do incredibly well at that time."

And she did get another chance during the Naval Battle, but she failed that to. Her shoulder collided with the ground painfully, and she swore it almost popped out of place. All she heard were laughs from above, and her face burned with shame, tears working their way into her dark eyes.

The Chelia girl from Lamia sat down next to her. "Are you okay?"

Juvia blinked up at her, brushing away some tears. "A little embarrassed, and my shoulder hurts just a bit, but yeah."

The girl's smile was sweet, but somehow forced. "I'm glad you're okay, Love Rival."

"Wait, what?"

Then there was gasping, gasps of horror and interest that swept the crowd. The mages looked back up at the sphere. Juvia's heart stopped. Lucy, precious and sweet Lucy, was getting knocked around, punched, savagely tormented.

The pain in her shoulder went away. Juvia stood up, running for the sphere. The referee caught her arm, telling her that she couldn't go in, no matter how dire the situation.

"No, let me in! That's my nakama, let me in! She needs me, she needs me! Let me help, please!"

But they didn't. The guilt ate at Juvia.

"You did good," Gajeel told her a couple of days later. They and Pantherlily sat alone in the park on the outskirts of Crocus. They were doing last minute training for the last day.

"No, I didn't. Juvia doesn't even know why the Master and Mavis-sama put her on the team." She took a swig of water.

"They know that you've got firm resolve in your heart." Gajeel stole the water from her. "That's what we need to win this twisted game."

"Resolve?" Juvia looked into the crystal clear pool of water. She thought about Gray's disgusted looks, the laughs of the people in the arena, the laughs that were directed at her by their guildmates sometimes when they thought she couldn't hear. "Juvia thinks she might be losing that."

* * *

It was amazing.

The chill of the ice, the crisp taste of the air.

The coolness of her hand as he wrapped his around hers.

Gray smiled at her, looking at the beautiful smile on her face. She was not looking at him, she was not fangirling, she was calm, she was elegance, she was joy and grace and everything.

In that moment, she was the Juvia that he really, truly liked a bit more than a friend.

* * *

"You'll be okay?" Juvia asked Gajeel as he ran past her. He merely grunted an affirmative reply, then went to face the dragon.

"Juvia, you can follow me." Gray grabbed her arm and gave it a yank before letting go. "We'll work together again. Went well enough during the tournament, right?"

Her nerves started to buzz again, a stupid smile wobbling its way onto her face. "Y-yeah, we did work well. We'd work well in a lot of situations, y'know, like-"

"Alright, c'mon."

"But you didn't hear what kind of situations we'd work well in…" A mischievous smile replaced the stupid one, an insinuating and kinda sexual one that she did so well very often.

Unfortunately, Gray was not looking at her, and he did not see the suggestive, teasing smile.

She replayed that moment in her head, the one where she'd tried to tease him and be friendly, as he pulled her upright a while later.

"Juvia, I have something to tell you."

Her mind froze. A love confession? What was it, what was it? PLEASE BE A LOVE CONFESSION IT WOULD BE THE BEST STORY TO TELL GAJEEL."

"Wh-what is it?" The stupid smile and buzzing nerves came back.

"I don't think it's what you think it is…"

"Look out!"

Juvia's head whipped around, taking in the tiny dragons clambering over the rubble. One shot a laser at her. She prepared her Water Body, but was knocked to the ground. A horrible squelch filled the fight-heavy air, a terrible cough accompanied by a splat of blood on the ground.

Flinching, preparing for the worst, Juvia looked up.

Everything went cold and it hurt it hurt really bad so bad.

Attack after attack.

Blood. More blood.

More screaming.

Why

no

this

it wasn't

no

it wasn't supposed to happen

"GRAY!"

* * *

"It's okay."

That's all Gajeel told her when they got home a week or so later, after the big parade in the middle of town, after exploring their guild hall, happy to be home once again. Juvia sat crying on his bed in the train station (exact same room as years before. No one had wanted it. Shocker.), sobbing into her hands as she told all.

Gray.

Gray.

Gray had died.

Maybe it had been undone somehow.

But it had happened.

And then

at the dance

he'd said no.

And she thought of the laughs at the arena, the disgusted looks from Gray, the cold looks he gave her, the laughs from her guildmates they thought she couldn't hear.

And she knew it wasn't okay.

* * *

AN: Next chapter we'll jump into the original plot. I don't know where to put it in the timeline, but it's definitely after the Tartaros arc, probably a month or so is when it starts. Actually, no, it starts a bit after the GMG when they're home, and then it jumps into the big ol' storyline, probably a bit after the Tartaros arc. IDK where to put it, I'm so confused about my own writing.

But I think that Juvia is really self-conscious, and it's just habit. She knows that sometimes people in the guild laugh at her "silly obsession" over Gray, and it's really nerve-wracking to her. They don't do it mean-spiritedly, she knows that somewhere deep down, but she blows it into proportion and it makes her feel awful.


	6. The Plot Thickens? Maybe?

AN: My word, you're all so kind! Thanks for all the reviews, they were very flattering. Ulcaasi, I appreciate you're deep look into my grammar. It just sometimes slips away from me while I'm in the heat of writing, I'm so sorry to disappoint you!

I seem to have a new fan in icecreamhyouka~ They commented on every chapter as they finished reading it! They noticed that sometimes my Juvia slips out of third person. Again, it just slips away from me in the heat of writing. I think I need to proofread more. XD

Also, I was so, so flattered by Pandagirl's review. I'm glad it made you depressed, that was the point. *slightly evil laugh* But you've thought of fics for this fic? That's amazing. You're amazing. I hope I continue to satisfy you all!

(PS, with the timeline on this, we can just pretend that it happens after the Tartaros arc. Since the arc has just barely started, there'll be next to no mentions about it, so don't sweat it.)

* * *

"I'm tired!" Happy complained, holding onto Natsu's scarf. "I wanna stop!"

"Quit complain', cat!" Gajeel barked. "My Lily ain't saying a thing!"

Pantherlily decided to speak in defense of his fellow Exceed. "Gajeel, we are all quite tired. Why don't we stop somewhere?"

Lucy sighed and looked down at the map. "Why're you on a job with us again?"

"Master asked me to tag along." Gajeel kicked a stone.

The blonde shrugged. "The closest town is Azalea. Oh, wow, I've always wanted to go there."

"Isn't that one of the richest towns in Fiore?" Wendy asked quietly.

"It is indeed," Erza said, brushing her scarlet hair out of her face. "An inn will be expensive."

Gajeel turned back to them. "Who said anything about an inn?"

Gray glared. "You suggestin' we sleep on the ground?"

"No."

"Then what, Metal Head?" Natsu asked.

"I know a place."

Lucy sighed. "We'll still have to pay, so it doesn't matter." She yelled into her hands, muffling it. "I hate paying for things!"

"We don't have to pay," Gajeel snapped. They were getting on his nerves, and Lily chuckled.

"Where are we going, then?" Gray shouted, irritated. "I have no patience for this!"

"Just trust me, icehead! I ain't got any patience for you, either!"

He really didn't, not since Juvia came to his apartment, crying and shaking about how he'd died, how he'd said no. Gajeel could respect Gray's decisions, because it was his life and it was up to him who to love and when to love and whatever.

That didn't mean he had to like it.

"Where _are _we going?" Wendy asked, rubbing Carla's head. "I'm confused."

"Somewhere where we can get some sleep, a good meal, and a nice conversation."

"Since when do you care about nice conversation?" Lucy quipped.

"I like this person," Gajeel explained simply.

The team looked at each other, shrugged, and carried on. They came to a gate that Gajeel quickly made a key for and opened. They looked at each other, quite worried now. Breaking and entering? That may be Gajeel's thing, but not theirs. Even Lily was quite confused.

"You comin'? Trust me, I could care less if you wanna spend 50,000 jewel on some fancy hotel. I get to stay here for free, so-"

At the mention of 50,000 jewel ("That's almost as much as my rent!" Lucy said), Team Natsu bustled through the gate, heading down the path.

"I'm still tired~" Happy said again.

"Quiet, it's only another mile!" Gajeel rolled his eyes and mumbled about weak-ass whiners while they walked.

"He's not very nice when he's tired," Wendy whispered to Erza.

"He's not very nice at all," she whispered back.

"He's got dragon hearing," Gajeel shouted back to them. "So shut it!"

They walked past the fields, and Natsu grabbed Lucy's arm and pointed and yelled about how pretty they were, especially those really pretty pear trees, or those walnut ones, and this was a lot of trees, wow, but it's okay, Luce, we like trees.

"Natsu, Natsu, chill. You're talking a thousand miles a minute." Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Ah, I can see it from here," Gajeel said, putting a hand over his eyes like a visor. "We'll be there in a minute."

"Be wher- HOLY." Wendy stopped walking and stared up at the mansion, jaw limp. "Carla, Carla, do you see that, or am I hallucinating?"

"I-I see it. I indeed see it," the Exceed said, jaw as open as Wendy's. "It's very big."

Gajeel kept walking towards the large building. Erza grabbed his arm, highly alarmed.

"Wait, Gajeel, I thought we were going to one of those other houses on the grounds!"

Gajeel lifted a metal-stud eyebrow. "Don't be stupid, woman, we're headed to the main building."

"Breaking into such a huge place-" Lucy gasped.

Gajeel whirled around, a bit annoyed. "Who said we were breakin' in? I never did, did I? You really think I'd break into a mansion, Bunny Girl?"

"Well, I quite honestly wouldn't put it past you," Lucy said.

"Gajeel is an honest man," Lily said defensively.

"At least the cat believes me," Gajeel mumbled. "C'mon. The sooner we get settled in, the sooner we can head to the next town over for supplies."

"Okay!" Natsu cheered, running ahead of Gajeel. "Mansion-stay, mansion-stay!"

"Cool it, hotshot," Lucy said, grabbing his scarf.

The team waited at the bottom of the porch while Gajeel climbed the stairs, banging on the door with an elegant knocker. Was he going to beg for a place to stay? Would they kick him out? What would happen? Oh, the suspense!

The door opened and Gajeel remained as calm and cool as ever. "Hey."

The butler at the door merely smiled and opened the door wider. "Gajeel-san! How nice to see you, please come in."

"WHAT?"

Gajeel looked back at them, a smirk on his face. "I've got a few with me. Is that okay?"

"Yes, of course, anything. It's not like we're lacking room, sir. Can I take your coat, please?"

"Thanks, man." He looked back, annoyed. "We're being accepted into their home and you're just standing there? How ungrateful. You can shut the doo-"

"NO WE'RE COMING THANK YOU!"

Gray's jaw dropped at the sight. Gajeel couldn't blame him. A beautiful house, with dark wood floors and elegant stairs heading up the second level, topped off with the very tall ceiling. The furniture was intricate, all the colors tying in perfectly with one another. Happy and Natsu seemed quite taken with the tray of sweet bread by the door, and Lucy had to tell them to stop eating before they got sick.

"Wh-where are we?" Erza asked, a blush on her face. "It's so large. And fancy!"

"Gajeel-san!" A cute woman, probably in her forties, stepped into the room briefly. "How nice of you to visit! Please go sit in the sitting room, and I'll go tell Lady Marina that you're here. Would you all like some tea and cake?"

"Uh, yeah," Natsu said, like it was a very stupid question. "That would be amazing."

"I'll bring it right away, then. Go, go, make yourselves comfortable!" The woman bustled off, her long, dark red braid slapping her waist as she went.

"They're treating him like master of the house?" Lucy asked, quite taken aback.

Gajeel led them through a few rooms (Natsu gawked at each and every one), until they came to a comfortably sized room, a fireplace in the back, couches and chairs lined up around a wide coffee table. A maid came in, drew the curtains aside, letting in the sun, and then left quickly.

The Kurogane sat down, easing his feet up onto the table. He then took them off, seeming to think twice about ruining Marina's fancy furniture. Dumbfounded and silent, Team Natsu sat down. A butler brought in the tray of sweets, and they all took up cups of tea without a word. They drank in utter silence.

"WHAT?" Lucy shouted again, breaking the silence. "I DON'T UNDERSTAND?"

"Quiet down, it's a big, quiet house and you're making a ruckus!" he snapped, slamming the tea cup down on the table. "And I don't owe ya any explanations! Be gratefully I let you stay!"

"I-I feel like a princess!" Erza said abruptly, sparkly-eyed and blushing.

"Good for you," Gray said, taking a bite out of a cinnamon cake. "Dammit, this is good."

"Gajeel?" A voice like running water, smooth and silky and calm, came from just outside the room. "Is that you, my boy? Moxie told me you were here."

"Marina, how are you?" Gajeel said to the speaker, who still had not entered the room.

"Quite good. Let me go finish up this one little bit of paperwork I'm doing, then I'll be in. I've never met anyone else from your guild before!"

Brisk footsteps signaled that the speaker had gone somewhere else. The team lapsed back into silence, even Lily, and were staring at him. Annoyed, he calmly ate a slice of bread with cream.

"My boy?" Natsu asked.

"Marina?" Wendy said.

"Yup," Gajeel responded.

"Oh," Gray said simply, then went back to the tea. Mint, he decided, that's what it was. It was very refreshing.

They, again, lapsed into silence for around ten minutes.

And then-

"Gran, are you-"

Everyone froze as she stepped into the room. She looked cute out of her long coat and fur hat, dressed in a brown, white-polka dotted sundress and white sandals. Her long blue curls flew wildly around her face as usual. In her pale hands was a basket filled to the brim with different foods.

"Juvia?" Gray said.

Gajeel looked at her, barely interested. "Oh, didn't know you were visiting."

Juvia dropped the basket. Her face went a vivid red, her eyes going wide. They all stared at her, as silent as before.

This day was too much for them. It was too confusing.

"Wh-why are you here?" Lucy asked, almost dropping a muffin.

"Why are you here?" Juvia almost shrieked. Her voice was still high-pitched though, a wild tone to it. "You- None of you should- Gajeel-kun!" The rain woman turned on him, hands on her hips, cheeks puffed out in irritation.

The team sipped their tea, watching the scene unfold.

"What, we had to stay somewhere, and all those fancy-ass inns are way expensive!" Gajeel said, crumbs flying out of his mouth.

"But… Today? Really? Why, cruel world, why?" Juvia buried her face in her hands, groaning.

Gray looked at her. "None of this makes sense."

"Especially Gray-sama! Oh, Juvia doesn't want anyone to like her just because of this, no, no, oh no!" Juvia started breathing like she might cry.

"I don't get it," Carla said. "Not. At. All."

Juvia took her hands away from her face, put them firmly at her sides, looking up at the ceiling. "Juvia… Juvia is- That is, you see-"

"It's the cutest girl in the whole wide world!" Juvia stumbled as someone tackled her from behind, burying their face into her curly blue hair. "Oh, I love your hair when it's like loose like this, just like your mother!"

"What?" Lucy repeated.

The woman stepped out from behind a blushing and still stammering water mage, smiling brightly. Erza dropped her tea onto the floor. The woman was a bit taller than Juvia, but looked quite the same. Except, well, she was older. And her hair was Juvia's color, though straight and hanging in a braid over her shoulder. When Erza looked at them, her eyes were a clear, translucent blue, like the cleanest water you could imagine.

"I have so many guests. What a lovely present for an old woman!" Marina smiled, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "I must meet you all. Juvia, come sit down. I didn't even know you were coming!"

"I-I-I thought I would surprise you…" Juvia said, again near tears. "Oh no, what will they think?"

"I don't get it," Natsu said, mouth full of three different kinds of muffins. He seemed to be enjoying the flavor combination. "But I'm getting food, so."

"You two look… similar," Happy said. "Carla, I'm confused."

"Don't look at me!" The female Exceed said, shrugging.

"Juvia, did you never tell them?" Marina said, pouring two cups of mint tea. "My, my, quite rude."

"Gran was the one who told Juvia not to say anything!" Juvia protested.

Gray spit his tea back into his cup. Gajeel thought that based on the look on Juvia's face, she thought it was kinda cute. Erza choked on some cake, washing it down quickly with a new cup of steaming tea.

"Gran?" Lucy said, tilting her head uncomprehendingly. "That's it, this it too much for today, I'm so done."

Marina turned to Lucy. "I know who you are. Miss Lucy Heartfilia. You look quite like your mother." She sighed. "Layla was the only one from that house that I could talk with without nearly drowning someone."

"You knew Mama?"

And Lucy briefly remembered someone, someone just as pretty as this old woman, someone brushing their pale, cool hand along her cheek for a moment during a funeral. The vague memory faded very quickly.

"Layla was such a sweet young woman."

"Does someone WANT TO EXPLAIN WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" Gray shouted.

Juvia started, flinching away from him. "Juvia is sorry she never told you, but-" She sighed. "Juvia is a member of the Lockser family."

Lucy shook her head, pointing at the young woman. "Wait, I knew your name was Lockser, but you're _a _Lockser. Like, a _Lockser?_"

"Uh… Yes?" Juvia hid her face in her hands. "No one was ever supposed to know…"

"Why?" Gray said.

"Because Juva didn't want people to take advantage of her because of her money." The Fairy Tail mage sighed. "Jose knew, but he never did anything… Juvia guesses if she could trust Jose, she could trust anyone, but she was too afraid." She still looked mortified. "Gray-sama, please don't love Juvia just for her money!"

"Ch-chill out, crazy woman!"

"So, this is your mom?" Erza asked, finally mopping up the spilled tea on the floor.

"No, no this is Gran. She's, uh, my grandmother."

"But she's so young!" Wendy gasped.

Marina smiled. "I had my child young, and then Juvia happened very early on in my daughter's marriage." The woman turned behind her, looking over the edge of the couch. "Dew drop, what's in that basket over there?"

Juvia got up, blushing. "I thought maybe Monroe needed groceries, so I brought him some."

She rolled her eyes. "My, what a kind girl. Is that what you wanted me to say? I see right through you, Juvia, and I see into that basket. It's filled with the ingredients for your favorite dish."

"What? No. Never."

"Hmm. You forgot tomatoes."

"I did?- You tricked me."

"So it _is _for your favorite food. Take it to Monroe, see if he'll make it."

"Yes, Gran." Juvia picked up the basket and walked out of the room.

Marina and Gajeel ate and drank calmly while everyone else stared.

"Juvia's a princess?" Natsu asked.

"S-so, you're her paternal grandmother, Marina-sama?" Wendy asked innocently.

The water mage made a face and pulled her teacup away from her. "Oh, no. I'm Juvia's mother's mother. Juvia changed her name when she came to live with me." Marina sighed and picked up some bread. "Juvia never cared much for her father."

"I never knew Juvia had family," Gray said, pouring Wendy some more tea.

"Well, as you just saw, she doesn't talk about it much."

"I know you!" Erza blurted out, startling everyone. "I read about you, once, in a book."

She seemed surprised. "I'm in a book?"

"Yes. You were almost appointed a Wizard Saint, weren't you? That's what it said." Wendy's eyes sparkled.

"Perhaps," she said vaguely. "Ah, those were the days."

Erza and Lucy looked at each other briefly from the corner's of their eyes. This sweet old woman had nearly been a Wizard Saint? That was both admirable and unbelievable. Judging by the looks on Natsu and Gray's faces, they were thinking the same. Gajeel did not react to this news, since he had seen Marina in action once, and it was not pretty and it was scary and the fact that she could be a Wizard Saint was highly believable.

"Well, let me see if I know who you are based on Juvia's letters." Marina put her cup back on its saucer, observing them all. "A cute little girl with a cat, so you must be Wendy Marvell. A woman with scarlet hair who radiates a queenly air… Erza, am I right? A hothead with a wonderfully friendly smile. Natsu Dragneel. Of course I know who Lucy is. Juvia thinks you're quite lovely." Her clear blue eyes turned to Gray. Her eyebrow lifted. "A man who often does not wear a shirt (or any clothing), and who typically looks bored with everything."

Gray shifted in his seat.

"Gray. Gray Fullbuster." Marina stood, her long red gown brushing her toes. "Well, let's get you settled into your rooms, and then we'll have dinner. Monroe is making seafood stew, unless Juvia can convince him otherwise."

With grateful thank yous all round, they left the sitting room, following a butler who awaited them outside the door. Marina grabbed Gray's arm as he passed. Gajeel watched curiously, then bowed slightly and left, shutting the door behind him.

Gray watched her awkwardly, taking in her every detail. She was old, clearly, but she still looked quite young, looking not much past her forties. Her features screamed "Juvia!" except for her straight hair and light blue eyes. Her skin had a bit more color, too. She looked at him, releasing him. Gray took a few steps back as she examined him.

Much to his dismay, her eyes filled with tears and she covered her mouth, wearing an expression of complete and utter gladness. He put his hands up, shaking them slightly, already desperate to tell this old woman not to cry, please don't cry.

"It's you," she said. "It's really you. I've wanted to meet you for years and years."

"I, uh, well-" Gray stammered.

She blinked away her tears, returning to the stately, cool and calm woman she had been before. "I'm so sorry, forgive me. I'm just really grateful to you."

"To me?" Gray put his hands in his pockets. "What for?"

"My little girl. My Juvia. Thank you. She tells me that you took her rain away."

He shifted his feet. "I-I'm sure it was…"

"She loves you."

Gray bit his tongue, holding back the things that he wanted to scream to the world. _I want to be with her, I really do, but she just… I don't want her to have unrealistic expectations of me. And right now, she does have those things, so please, Marina-san, don't ask me-_

Marina dropped to her knees, pressing her forehead to the ground, bowing in front of him. He stepped back, completely shocked out of his thoughts of Juvia, not believing the sight of this powerful woman bowing before him. He didn't deserve to be bowed to.

"Marina-san, I don't know if I…"

"I don't care if you love her."

He stopped.

"It would be nice, it really would, if you were in love with her, but"-Marina clenched her fists, putting them closer to her head-"I can't force you. Even so, I'm just glad. I'm so glad that someone took the rain away from her."

* * *

Gajeel surveyed them all as they came out of their rooms, tired and bleary-eyed. Carla and Happy bumped into each other, but didn't seem to care much. He knocked on Juvia's door and entered upon hearing the mumbled, "Come in, I guess."

Juvia was lying in her large bed, gauzy pink night gown strewn all around her. She sat up, her hair all over the place, drool dripping out of one corner of her mouth. She looked like a mess, but no one looked perfect waking up, not even Juvia. He gestured to the corner of his mouth and she scrubbed there, taking the string of drool away.

"What?" she said.

"We're gonna go today. Sorry to get in your hair."

"Nah, it's cool. Here, how about Juvia gets dressed and takes you to the cafe? It'll be fun."

"You sure?"

"Juvia'll pay."

"Okay, Gajeel has no issues with that."

She threw a pillow at him and he shut the door, nearly bumping into Erza. Titania shot him a death glare, and he retreated down the stairs into the main room. Maids and butlers were bustling around, workers coming in for food before they started their days out in the field, and Gajeel maneuvered around them into the dining area.

Marina was sitting there, reading a book, while Moxie put a plate of milk tea, clotted cream, and bread in front of her. She was finishing up a fruit parfait and handed it to the maid, then turned to Gajeel.

"How are you, my boy?"

"I'm good." He licked his lips, his tongue barely scraping across his teeth. "Listen, y'know, about Juvia-"

"She's getting depressed."

"Should've known that you knew."

"I know my granddaughter like the back of my hand. I feel like I know her better than I ever knew my Ariel…"

Ariel. Gajeel had heard little about Juvia's mother, besides the fact that she was a strong, independent mage who had married an abusive husband, given birth to an asshole of a son, and then had Juvia. The rain woman had described her mother with mixed feelings. She was good, but she was horribly submissive, and never tried more than a few times to help her daughter. Ariel did not believe that her son could do any wrong, and he therefore put Juvia through hell. He'd seen some pictures of her. She was stunning and looked like Juvia, except for her hair and eyes.

"I hope you can talk to her. I don't like seeing her sad."

Marina smiled. "I'll do what I can. In other news, Juvia tells me you have a girlfriend?"

"Sh-she what? That little- She lied, Marina, I swear she lied, I-"

"Levy is totally your girlfriend," Natsu said as he slid down the banister, smirking.

"You llllllike her~"

"Cat, be quiet."

Lily flew down in front of the rest of the team and perched on Gajeel's shoulder. "You are quite fond of Levy."

"My cat, be quiet."

"So, are we gonna move out, or what?" Gray seemed uncomfortable as soon as he got downstairs, shifting his feet and looking at Marina out of the corner of his eyes.

"Wait, wait." Juvia came down the stairs, all dressed in white lacy leggings, a short red raincoat, and black rainboots. "Juvia insists on taking you out to breakfast."

"Is it free?" Lucy asked immediately.

"Juvia will pay, so yes. For you, it is free."

"I'm game, then."

They all picked up their bags, unfolded their umbrellas, and followed Juvia outside. The rainwoman unfolded a cream-colored umbrella, resting it on her shoulder and humming. Wendy caught up to her and started talking. Gajeel took the chance to pull Gray closer to him.

"What did you and Marina talk about?"

Gray blushed very lightly. "Nothing. Really, nothing."

"Don't give me that-"

"Juvia."

Gajeel's grip on the stripper's arm tightened until it was painful. They stopped walking and let everyone pass by. He leaned in close and hissed into Gray's ear. "Stop screwing with her heart. I remember the Gray-bread incident. If you're not interested, _tell her so. Tell her again and again until she stops and you stop. Screwing. With. My. Juvia._"

* * *

"Oh no, Juvia forgot it was closed this early!" They stopped in front of the cafe, disappointed, each and every one of them. Happy looked like he might cry. "J-Juvia is sorry."

Gajeel shrugged. "There are other places."

She puffed out her cheeks. "But this one is my favorite… I wanted to see Clover-san."

"You just wanted pumpkin pancakes."

"There's no shame in that."

The door to the cafe opened, and a woman with red-and-white hair stepped out, tucking a dishcloth into her apron. "Juvia! What a pleasant surprise."

"Clover-san, good morning!" Juvia smiled. "We wanted breakfast, but you're still closed."

Clover waved a hand dismissively and held the door open. "Come on in. Anything for our favorite customer."

Gray lifted an eyebrow at Juvia. "Come here often?"

"Oh, Juvia is sure you're just saying that-"

"No, one year you spent 500,000 jewel on pancakes alone. You really are our favorite customer."

Gray kept staring at Juvia. "Really? 500,000?"

"They have good pancakes, don't blame Juvia."

They entered and seated themselves at the largest table. Wendy drummed the table excitedly, and Gray chuckled and patted her head, amused at her eagerness.

"Calm down, kid."

"I really want to try the food that Juvia-san likes!" Wendy said, smiling.

"Well, here, then." A tall man, Clover's husband, set multiple plates down on the table. "All Juvia's favorites. Missed making them for you while you were away."

"D-did you. Juvia is sorry to have caused such worry."

They dug in, piling pancakes and eggs and bacon onto their plates. Lucy tore into a scone topped with honey butter, practically salivating.

"Erza, you have to try this!" Lucy popped a piece of fried dough into the Fairy Queen's mouth.

"It's quite good." Erza swallowed and put one on her plate. "I demand more."

"What's this job?" Juvia asked.

"Chill out on the pancakes, woman," Gajeel said, watching her shovel them into her mouth. "Just some dumb 'Stop the Thieves!' request. Master wanted me to go along with them so I could help with capturing them or somethin' like that."

"Exciting."

They finished eating, dabbling in conversation, but mostly focusing on inhaling their food. Juvia paid them handsomely when they had all finished and the cafe was just opening up. Percy, the handsome young man that was Clover's son, handed her a box.

"It's mango cake. Take the whole thing, no charge."

Juvia began fumbling around in her pockets. "No, I have to pay. A whole cake? Juvia can't take that for free!"

"Juvia, when people offer you free things, TAKE THEM," Lucy advised.

"O-okay. Thank you, I'll probably be back later!"

Juvia reopened her umbrella and quickly hid under it, saying goodbye to Gajeel, Lily, and Natsu's team. "Be safe. Feel free to stop by when you're done. Juvia will probably still be here. Maybe we could all go home together?"

"That'd be nice," Gray said. "We'll be back in a couple of days." He smiled and patted her hand that gripped the umbrella handle. "See ya, Juvia."

* * *

"Well, what do you need?" Gran asked, leaning back in her office chair. "My little dew drop with such a serious look on her face."

Juvia wrung her hands together. "The reason Juvia came here so suddenly… Gran, J-Juvia want to know about Mother. And Father. Juvia means, Juvia hasn't seen them since the day Juvia left them, and it's been seven years plus that, so-"

"Dead."

The young woman's heart dropped. "Dead?"

"I'm so sorry, Juvia." Gran put her head in her hands, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "I'm so sorry that I haven't told you."

"Wh-what does Gran mean, dead? H-how?" Juvia's eyes started to fill with tears.

Ariel.

_Mother_.

"I was waiting for you to ask, so that I could give this to you." She rolled out a drawer in her desk, drawing out a parcel. "After the news of your alleged death, Ariel became reckless. Since the death of Daniel, she'd already been unstable, but the loss of you pushed her over the edge. So, she wasn't careful enough on her jobs."

"What about-"

"James just drank and drank after your mom… passed. He stopped working, since he no longer had a partner."

Juvia pursed her lips. "His kidney probably gave out from all that booze."

"The doctors don't disagree with you, that's for sure." Gran tried to crack a smile, but failed. She stood up, long brown gown swishing across the floor, and walked over to Juvia. "But Ariel left this for you, just before her death. I never saw the point, since I also thought you were gone, but… Your mom was always a smart lady. Very intuitive."

Gran put the parcel in Juvia's outstretched hands. "Go open it in your room. You might want the privacy."

Juvia nodded numbly and left the room without another word. She went down the hall, went left, right, until she reached her room. The door clicked as she shut it. Softly, she knelt down by her bed and placed the parcel on the cushy mattress, simply staring at it.

Mother.

She'd left that for Juvia.

Should she open it? Ariel had never done much for Juvia when she needed it. Did her mother deserve Juvia's attention, even now, when she was gone?

But Juvia was never one to reject someone's desires.

With surprisingly steady fingers, Juvia tugged at the twine string holding it all together. The white paper fell away, revealing a lump of silky blue fabric and a letter in a crumpled black envelope. Juvia did not study the cloth, but picked up the letter and ripped through the glue, unfolding the letter inside.

_Juvia,_

_I want you to forgive me. But that's selfish, isn't it? To ask someone who I could never help or protect to forgive me is unforgivable in and of itself. But I still want it, even if it makes me a bad mother, a bad person._

_Life doesn't have anymore meaning. Your brother has been gone for years and years. I never made any attempt to reach out to you after my mother took you away. But I believe you're alive, even if no one else does, and I believe you'll come back. And when you do, your gran will give you this letter and this cloak._

Juvia's eyes went down to the shiny, light blue. She remembered it now, remembered her mother putting it on all the time before she left on jobs. The letter continued.

_Do you remember what the cloak is? It's simply a Lockser heirloom, a bit of a good luck charm. Your great-grandmother gave it to your gran, she gave it to me, and now I'll give it to you. The pure blue resembles the water that we so love, and the pattern like vines, greenery, I think are supposed to be the earth. The earth would not have life without the water._

_I know you like those great big coats and fur hats (you take after your grandfather), but I hope that every now and then, you'll wear this, with pride as a Lockser woman. This cloak resembles our family._

Juvia felt the silk and satin fabric beneath her fingers.

_I love you. I love you. I love you so, very much, my little one. I know it did not seem like it, and I cannot blame you. I never endeavored to protect you from your father, or your brother. I've come to realize that yes, he probably had a significant part in your abuse. I'm so sorry I never did a thing. But, Juvia, I do love you._

_Love,_

_Mother_

Rain fell onto the wrinkled paper.

Juvia swallowed back the lumps in her throat, gasping for precious air. Her nose ran, her eyes burned. She hated it when her eyes rained.

"Mother…" Juvia dropped the letter and buried her pale face into the cloth. She imagined the smell of her mother, the smell of fresh, pure water, on it. "I love you, too."

* * *

"_Juvia."_

"_Yes, Mama?"_

_Ariel laid on the floor, tracing designs onto the worn wood with her long, pale finger. Her shiny, light blue hair hung in her face, hiding everything but the tip of her nose and her lips from view. She wore a plain brown skirt and a white blouse. To the day, Juvia still thinks that her mother was one of the most beautiful women to have lived._

"_Look outside."_

_The four year-old stood on her tiptoes and looked out the streak-y window. Her face twisted into a frown. "It's raining, Mama."_

"_Oh. Is that so?" Ariel's lips turned up into a vaguely sad smile. "I wonder why it's raining."_

"_Dad says it's because Juvia is bad." The tiny girl fell back onto her feet, turning to her mother. "Is it true?"_

"_Dad told you that? Hmm. No, little one, that's far from true." Ariel held out her arms and Juvia fell into them, laying down on the ground next to her young mother. "You're a good girl. You're my good girl."_

"_Juvia is?"_

_Ariel chuckled, smoothing Juvia's loose little curls. "Of course. Juvia, would you like to hear something?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_I believe that someday, a prince will come along."_

"_A prince? Like in the stories?"_

"_Something like that. But I think he'll come, and he'll have beautiful black hair, and he'll be kind. When he comes to you, I think the rain will go away."_

"_Will it?"_

"_Yes, I think so. I think that's exactly how it'll happen." Ariel's clear eyes sadly traveled across Juvia's tiny body. So innocent. So bruised. So cursed. She ran a hand up the tiny stomach, getting a couple giggles out of her. She buried her face into the blue hair, darker than her own, the hair of her own mother. "I'm so sorry to have burdened you. I'm so, so sorry."_

_Juvia's eyes darkened. Though small, she knew what she was speaking of. "It's okay, Mama. I-"_

"_Juvia!"_

_Juvia instinctively curled up. Ariel frowned and clenched her eyes shut, tightening her hold around her little girl. James stormed into the room, wobbly on his feet and nearly cross-eyed._

"_Where's the little brat?" he slurred._

_Ariel barely breathed out, "Go away. Go away, James, you don't have to hurt her."_

"_What was that?" He kicked his wife's back. She whimpered and hugged Juvia, the tiny girl now crying, into her chest. "Don't ever tell me what to do. Get out. Get up, get out!"_

_Ariel shrieked as he grabbed the back of her shirt and hauled her out of the room. He slammed the door shut. Juvia heard as she frantically banged on it, screaming, no, no, don't hurt her, why do you have to do this, she doesn't deserve it, get your hands off her, no, no._

_Screams and thumps could be heard even outside, then loud wails as it all stopped. James walked out of the room, adjusting his hair and straightening his vest._

"_Go deal with her."_

_Ariel simply leaned against the wall, sobbing, a medical kit clasped to her chest. She was scared to look in, Juvia had been sure, scared to look at her bleeding and bruised child, sobbing and screaming, unable to understand why her father would hurt her. But she did, and she cried while she patched up the cuts and the bruises, cried because she could kiss her all she wanted, but she couldn't take away the damage in her little girl's mind._

* * *

"Oi, you ready to go?" Gajeel asked, casually walking past the gate.

Obviously she was, because she was sitting on the ground, backpack on and a white parcel hugged to her chest. Blinking, she looked up, then smiled. "Yes, Juvia is. How was the job?"

"Erza got overexcited and screwed it up," Natsu said, looking disgruntled. "Didn't even get paid."

Erza choked back a sob and turned her back on the rest of them, shaking her fist. "I must be punished for my silliness!"

"Erza-san, please, no," Wendy said, looking saddened at Erza's mournful state.

Juvia smiled again and stood up with Gray's help. He awkwardly patted her arm and started walking. Juvia followed behind all of them, brushing her arm against Gajeel's. The Dragon Slayer looked down at the parcel in her arms.

"What's that?"

The water mage smiled. "Just something from Mother. Juvia thinks that she's taking it because she forgives her mother."

"You saw your mom?"

"No. But Juvia heard from her, she knows that for certain." She smiled and tugged on his arm. "C'mon, let's go back home."

* * *

"Ah, it's been such a long time since we've heard from him!"

"Not hearing from the master, it-it's been so sad!"

"... Why are we here? I have a class-"

The old man in the chair turned from the lacrima screen, smiling with only his mouth, not his eyes. "Gentlemen, it's been far too long. Look at all of us, back together! Except"-He tapped the screen, indicating to a young woman with blue hair, walking alongside her friends-"we're missing just one, you see.


	7. Wind on the Beach

AN: Wow, thanks for all the reviews! They mean so much. A lot of you said (especially WednesdaySnow) that my transition at the very end was a bit abrupt? You helpfully commented that I should have added a setting and such, but it was my intention _not _to do that. I wanted it to be really vague. And you also said you were confused about how they were watching Juvia. You must have accidentally missed the sentence where it says that the guy (what do you mean you think it's Jose? *gasp*) turned the LACRIMA towards them. It was there.

All of you say that I write Gajeel and Juvia's friendship pretty well, and I'm really happy that I can portray such cuties appropriately. But yeah, the part where Gajeel pulls Gray aside isn't him saying "Hey, you've gotta be Juvia's man," it's just him saying, "I don't really care, but don't mess with her." He just doesn't want to see anyone screw with her head. And Marina, wow, you guys liked her that chapter! Yeah, she doesn't care if Gray loves Juvia (she thinks it'd be nice), but she's just grateful that someone made her happy enough to stop the rainfall.

And I finally get the plot really rolling in this one! I'm quite proud of it, if you don't mind my saying. I'll finally stop blabbing, so please enjoy!

* * *

"It has to be perfect," Pantherlily muttered as he polished a table. It took him twice as long as somebody else, because of his amazingly small size. "Gajeel said it has to be perfect for Miss Juvia…"

"What has to be perfect?" Carla asked, putting down her tea.

"Juvia's birthday is tomorrow," Gajeel told the tiny white cat, walking by. "It'll be her coming of age, eighteen. Also, it'll be the first birthday she's ever had that had in the sun."

"Aww, so you're trying to make it all nice for her?" Levy asked teasingly. "Such a good friend."

"Sh-shut up!"

Levy knew full well not to be jealous of Juvia. She'd learned that a long time ago, though their relationship seemed romantic at first glance. Gajeel was simply her best friend, and he took care of her through thick and thin. The bookworm actually found it quite endearing, and it let her know that Gajeel was nice and warm underneath the cold and hard exterior.

"I didn't know it was Juvia's birthday tomorrow!" Lucy gasped. "I need to buy her something! What does she like?"

"Uhh…" Gajeel seemed at a loss. He crossed his arms, eyes flicking around as he thought. "Sh-she likes… stuff. Yeah. Cooking. And sewing. She was going on about needing some new green silk for a project she's working on… A new pan. I accidentally ate her last one."

"How do you _accidentally _eat someone's cooking supplies?" Levy asked, baffled.

"I was kind of out of it. A little bit drunk. And hungry."

"I stopped him from eating the handle," Lily said, somewhat proud.

"You stopped me from eating the best part," Gajeel snapped. "Really, I'd finished the rest, why not just let me eat the handle?!"

"I don't know! It didn't seem right to let you eat Miss Juvia's things!"

"Green silk… A pan..." Gray was writing down on a napkin, then tucked it in his pocket. "Got it."

They all stared at him.

"You're getting Juvia a present?" Levy asked.

Gray sputtered, "You make me sound like I'm heartless!"

Gajeel gripped Gray's arm and yanked him close so he could whisper in his ear. "What did I say about screwing around with Juvia's feelings?"

Gray squirmed in Gajeel's grip, then hissed back, "It's just a present. Everyone will be getting her one. Chill!"

"Oh, am I breaking something up?"

Lucy swiveled around at the voice. "Loke! What are you doing-"

"It's Juvia's birthday tomorrow, isn't it?" Loke smiled and reached into his coat pocket, slipping his other arm flirtatiously around Lucy's waist. "I promise I'm not here to tease you, Lucy, I'm just here to give these to Juvia." He produced two tickets. "Got two tickets to a nice resort on the beach!"

Gajeel snatched them out of Loke's hands and stared at them.

Lucy sighed, putting her head in her hands. "I sometimes wonder how you get these things. First Akane Resort, now this fancy shindig that I've never heard of?"

"Ah, Lucy, you insult me. Me, do something scandalous?" Loke put a hand over his heart, flinching as though he'd been wounded. "Unfortunately, I'm not going to be available tomorrow, that's why I'm here now. I promised Aries that we could do some training together."

"I really appreciate you taking such good care of Aries," Lucy said, smiling.

"Of course! Aries is like my precious little sister, after all." Loke smiled and pulled his sleeve up, checking his watch. "I've got a date tonight, so I have to go. Tell Juvia happy birthday for me!"

With a puff, he was gone. Gajeel shifted the tickets in his fingers.

"Only two?"

"It's an expensive place," Lucy said defensively. "Thinking he could get more is a bit unrealistic."

"Hmm. I'll give these to her tomorrow during our picnic." Gajeel tucked them into his pocket. "Then she can decide who she wants to take."

"You're even having a picnic for her!?"

And he did the very next day, right before the party. He wrapped his hands over her eyes and roughly guided her to a picnic blanket underneath a sakura tree, pulling back and letting her squeal at the sight of Lily and the food.

"Please tell Juvia you bought this food," she said as she sat down on the picnic blanket.

"I ain't tryin' to kill you, woman!" Gajeel shouted. "Just sit down and eat!"

Juvia shrugged and did as told, tucking her skirt down and kneeling. "Where'd you get the food, then?"

"Bought some of it, that pansy Freed made some of the sweeter stuff."

"A man being able to cook doesn't make him a pansy." Juvia puffed out her chest. "Elfman-san cooks, and he's as manly as they come!"

"Does he cook well is the question." Gajeel snorted, taking a bite of a beef sandwich.

"Yes, he does."

"Well, I'll be." Gajeel handed Lily a kiwi and they all went back to eating. A few minutes later, he said, "Oh, by the way, that Loke brought you these as a present."

"Loke-san?" Juvia licked her lips free of some flecks of cheese, leaning in curiously. "Loke-san gave Juvia a present?"

"Hmm. Got you these tickets to a fancy beach resort for a couple of days." Gajeel sighed, waving them around. "Now, I know you want to go with Stripper Boy, but-"

"Juvia wants to take Gajeel-kun!" Excited now, she leaned over all the food and took Gajeel's rough hands in her own. "It would be such fun!"

"Oh. That was unexpected," said Pantherlily. "We certainly thought you'd want to take Gray."

"Ju-Juvia doesn't know if Gray-sama would accept such an invitation." She looked briefly sad, then perked up again. It was her birthday, no sads for her. "And Juvia wants to talk to Gajeel-kun about something." She whispered mysteriously, "It's very important."

* * *

Gray walked into the guild hall, a whole bolt of sea-green silk under his arm. He looked around. "Where's Juvia?"

Evergreen flipped the page in her book, not bothering to look up. "Left yesterday right after the party. She took Gajeel to that fancy resort Loke gave her tickets to."

He nearly dropped the fabric. He'd gotten it a day late, since he'd had to order it from the town over. "R-really?"

Gray had been sure she would ask him.

Maybe he would have even said yes.

* * *

"We're going to have so much fun!" Juvia squealed. Her suitcase swung around in her wild grip, nearly catching Gajeel in the crotch. He yelped and lunged out of the way, frantic to protect himself. "I can't wait!"

"I can't wait until you put that damn suitcase down. Here, hey, y'know what, just let Gajeel-kun take it." He removed the dangerous weapon from her grip and they walked away from the train station.

Juvia overlooked the ocean, grinning. "Look at the water! Hey, you and I could probably rent a pair of skis, and-"

"That might qualify as transportation." Gajeel shuddered. "Never. Not ever."

"Well, we have to do something fun on the beach!" Juvia pouted.

"There's plenty of boutiques in the town. How's about I buy you something?" Gajeel asked, eager to sway her from the idea of the ocean, even if it meant buying her.

"Ocean, ocean, ocean!" Juvia chanted, unwilling to take no for an answer. "Ocean-"

"Okay, okay, fine!" Gajeel snapped. "For one day we'll go to the beach, and for the other we'll go walk around and stuff."

"Yay! Aww, Gajeel-kun is so agreeable~"

"No I ain't!"

* * *

"What should we do first?" Juvia asked, rushing across the sand to the water.

"Sit here," Gajeel said, setting up an umbrella. "Sit here and do nothing and enjoy it."

"But you can't enjoy doing nothing!" Juvia protested. "You just can't!" She clapped her hands together. "Can we please go swimming?"

"Dammit, woman, you know I don't swim well!"

"Gajeel-kun needs to let Juvia teach him to swim better." Juvia nodded thoughtfully. "That's right, because Gajeel-kun needs to teach his future children how to swim. Levy-chan doesn't strike me as a super strong swimmer either."

Gajeel dropped the umbrella, letting it slide out of his grip. His face was bright red, and it certainly wasn't from the sun, Juvia knew. She smiled maliciously behind her hand, watching him with shifty eyes.

"What makes you think I'm havin' kids?!" he shouted, kicking the sand up at her.

"Juvia feels it in her bones!" She sighed, clasping her hands by her head in adoration. "Juvia will be their aunt and will do everything with them. She'll be like a second mother!"

"No, you won't! I-I ain't havin' kids with that shrimpy bookworm!"

"Awww, why's Gajeel-kun in such denial? You know what, the moment we get back, let's plan a way for you to ask Levy-chan out!"

Interestingly enough, Gajeel had no objections to this. He finished setting up the umbrella and laying out the towels, then followed Juvia into the water. She squealed and jumped around, turning to splash him. He let the water slide off his face, completely unamused.

"Okay, so, when swimming"-They waded further out into the ocean-"you must keep your legs straight. All the force goes to your legs. Your arms, too, Juvia guesses. It's good to put some force in your arms."

Gajeel groaned, letting her lie him flat in the water. He began sinking, but she pressed him up with the water underneath him. "I don't like this."

"Just do it, Gajeel-kun. Let Juvia take care of you."

But thirty minutes later and nearly drowning five times, they gave up. Swimming was not Gajeel's thing, and they both agreed that _if _Gajeel ever had kids, Juvia would teach them to swim. There was a heavy emphasis placed on the "if."

"Well, I'm starved," Gajeel said from his position under the sand. Juvia had buried him and was giggling under her hand. "Since I'm buried under all this sand, you must feed me."

"Oh no, Gajeel-san. Juvia is a princess. She would never even think of feeding someone!" She tossed her head back, hand on her forehead dramatically.

"Get over yourself, Juvia-sama. Now, you must feed Gajeel-san." Gajeel opened his mouth and nipped at her close-by hand, eliciting a shriek from her.

"No!"

"Do it. I command you!"

She dumped a bucketful of sand on his face, running away, squealing. Gajeel grunted, shaking the sand off his face, and with effort, got up out of the sand, chasing her around. She was having so much fun, it was impossible not to indulge her.

Unwilling to deny any of her wishes (it was her birthday trip, after all), he watched her swim and build a sandcastle with some nearby kids, let her eat until it seemed like she would burst, and even allowed her to rent some waterskis. He went with her. He didn't have a fun time doing that.

After he had thrown up a total of two times, Juvia relented in going back to the resort.

"Juvia will go take a nap, Gajeel-kun." Juvia stepped out onto the balcony, listening to Gajeel's affirmative grunt from the couch.

Juvia leaned back in the chair on the balcony. She and Gajeel had one of the nicest rooms on the top floor, where they could eat out on the balcony, rest there, and look over the small ocean town and the body of water itself. She'd have to thank Loke for providing such a nice experience.

"Today was a lot of fun. Juvia can't remember the last time she felt so happy." She closed her eyes and leaned back. A nice nap would be the perfect way to end the day's action.

* * *

_Blood. Roaring. Earsplitting roaring. People screaming, running. A horrible beast, stories tall, slithering about the village, spewing lava-hot water everywhere… Its eyes were red and demonic, and they pierced Juvia, sending her running._

"_Soon," it hissed, voice very much female. "Soon, I WILL BE FREE!"_

* * *

Juvia woke up, breathing heavily, in a cold sweat. She swallowed, sitting up in the chair, pressing her hands over her chest, calming herself down. Grimacing, she noticed that in her panic, her nearly constant Water Body had come undone, revealing all the little scars and marks of abuse on her arms, her back, her stomach. With hardly a thought, the layer of water melted back over her, covering the blemishes.

A knock on the side of the doorway caught her attention. Gajeel, dressed in a white t-shirt and black jeans was leaning against the door. His favorite headband, the one Juvia knew Levy had given him a while back, was holding back his wild hair.

"Juvia, I'm going for a walk, since the beach is practically deserted. Wanna come?" he asked.

"Hmm? Oh, oh, yes. Let Juvia get changed. She just needs to put on a pair of jeans…"

Gajeel respectfully turned around as she slid her bikini top off and put on a loose, light blue tank, then slid loose, calf-length pants over her swim bottoms. She swung a small handbag over her shoulder and opened the door for Gajeel, letting him go out first.

The sand was refreshing under their feet and squished between their toes. Juvia hummed a bit as she leaned against Gajeel while they walked, breathing in his scent: cold iron and sweat. Oddly enough, it was relaxing, especially after that dream.

She remembered the words of the monster:

_I will be __**free**__._

"So." Gajeel broke the unpleasant thoughts. "You brought me with you and made me leave Lily behind so we could talk. What about?"

Juvia stood up straight, removing her weight from him. She inhaled deeply. "Do you… think Juvia is annoying?"

"Eh?" Gajeel looked over at her, vaguely concerned. "Nah."

"It's just…" Juvia looked down at the sand, stopping for a moment to trace a swirl into the sand with her toe. "Lately, Juvia really just feels like no one in the guild takes her seriously." She looked away guiltily. "I-it's stupid, but she hears them… She hears them make fun of her, sometimes, and Gray-sama always says that she's-"

"Oh, so tragic!"

Juvia and Gajeel stiffened, turning so that they were back to back, turning around in sync, looking about.

"That voice…" Juvia said, narrowing her eyes. "Gajeel-kun, that voice, does it-"

"Sound familiar?" Gajeel said, sniffing. "Yeah. Can't place it, though."

"Oh, you don't recognize my voice?" It sounded offended. "Does this help?"

The sand under their feet exploded, sending them flying away from one another.

"Gajeel!"

"Juvia! Hang on, I'm com-"

The wind picked up blowing grains into their eyes. Juvia growled and fought against it, enraged. Her hair billowed around, more distracting than the sand in her eyes. "Gajeel!" In her haste, she dropped the suffix.

"Juvia!"

She couldn't see him through the haze of sand.

Suddenly, a flash of fire burst through, melting the sand mid-air and turning it to glass. Surprised, Gajeel and Juvia looked at each other through the sheet of perfectly clear glass.

"What-" she started. Rocks rose up from under the sand, attacking them. Snarling, Juvia turned to water and lunged over the glass at Gajeel, grabbing him and yanking him into the ocean with her. The wind picked up again, however, more violent than before, and blew her away, making her drop Gajeel on the shore. Juvia reformed from the droplets, gasping.

"Wait… It can't be…" Juvia gasped.

"Ah, the young lady might remember!"

"Sh-she doesn't look any different from seven years ago. I-t's so sad!"

The wind picked up a dizzy Gajeel, wrapping him up in an orb. Immediately, his mouth opened in a silent scream, and he clawed at his throat. Juvia squeaked and reached out for him, but ran into the sheet of glass. Angry at the obstruction keeping her from her friend, she shattered it with the pressure of her magic alone. The glass cut her skin. She was far too angry to perform Water Body.

"Now, Mademoiselle Juvia, unless you cooperate, your poor friend here, well, he'll have all the oxygen ripped from his body."

"No, don't hurt him!" Juvia screamed and lunged for him, but a hand caught her.

Warm. Firm. Kind.

She remembered it from all the times it had tugged at her hair, all the times it had tickled her.

Juvia turned, mortified, just as mortified as the time that she'd seen Gray die. "Y-you-"

"Sorry."

A hand collided against her neck. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed forward. The arms caught her, pulling her up against their owner's chest, cradling her gently.

"Really sorry."

"Now, now, that's enough. We've got the target, _mon amie, _leave Gajeel just enough air to live."

* * *

The oxygen was being pulled out of his lungs. Gajeel felt like screaming, if he could. Through blurry vision, he watched Juvia lunged for him, watched as a person gripped her wrist and knocked her unconscious.

The wind stopped, leaving him to collapse against the sand. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not, but a dark shape whisked them away, leaving nothing behind.

No Juvia. No kidnappers.

He struggled to get up, to get some oxygen back in his lungs, but it wasn't working. He gasped one more time. "Th...ose guys… Why?"


End file.
